The RiftWalkers
by Gonzo the Purple Platypus
Summary: This Etrian Odyssey follows Hirt, a aged monk, and his guild, The RiftWalkers, as he trains various youths while exploring the dangerous and mysterious Labyrinth. Oh, and I'm thinking of starting a Etrian Odyssey fanfiction 1 or 2 sometime, so you might want to keep an eye out.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The floor was cold, and Hirt wasn't supposed to be there anyway. He sat up, and scratched his balding head. His room was littered with memorabilia, mountainous claws, large jawbones, gigantic tail feathers, and the like. He crawled back into his creaky cot and sighed, "Another nightmare." He didn't want to close his eyes now. After ten minutes of staring at the ceiling, Hirt tiptoed to the door and opened it, flinching when it creaked open. The hall was dark and Hirt didn't want to light a lamp, fearing he would wake Flom and Sae. Flom was his son, he was as tall as Hirt, he had golden blonde hair and light blue eyes, and a seemingly ever present smile, something he had not inherited from Hirt. Sae was Hirt's daughter, younger than Flom, she was short and fair, with two black pigtails hanging down to her thighs.

Their house was small and quaint, three rooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a small living room. They lived on a small farm that Flom tended on an island just off the port of Armoroad and Hirt enjoyed fishing off the banks of the island. Quietly picking up his fishing pole, Hirt snuck out of the house. It was just beginning to lighten up, and the sea reflected the orange sunrise beautifully. Hirt found a cool shady palm tree to sit under and began casting into the sea.

Several hours later, and several fish later, Hirt packed up and walked back to the house. Hirt opened the door and saw Sae sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchen, eating cereal out of a clay bowl. "Morning Dad! Whadya catch?"

Hirt looked into the basket he put the fish into, "Just five seven-star sardines and a flying fish."

The clunk of Flom's brown boots came from the hallway. Flom entered the kitchen and began putting on his coat, "Morning Dad, have a good sleep?" His tone had a slight sarcastic ring to it.

Hirt shook his head, "You know I didn't, Flom, you're a light sleeper, always have been."

Flom nodded, "And being in the room next to you doesn't help either." A small sheep toddled out of Flom's room and rubbed against Flom's leg, letting out a contented baa.

Hirt plugged the sink with a rag and started filling the sink with water, "Don't tell me you slept with that thing last night."

Flom slung a pitchfork across his back and picked up the small ram, "No, he sleeps on a rug next to my bed," He patted the sheep on the head and walked to the door.

Sae swallowed a spoonful of the cereal and asked Flom, "What did you plant this year, Flom?"

Opening the door Flom answered, "A row of leeks, a row of broccoli, and six rows of sea-corn. Then I have three sheep in a pen feeding on the hay I grew last year."

The screen door slammed shut as Flom left, and Hirt stopped the water, "The leeks were good last year, but this year the sea seems too salty for them." He dumped the fishes into the water and began cleaning them, throwing the guts out the window into the sea.

The sea was now filling up with ships carrying fresh blood to be spilled in the labyrinth. Hirt shook his head at their foolishness, he himself had been an adventurer once, along with a couple of his friends. The labyrinth claimed their life along with Flom and Sae's mother. Blood fell into the sink when Hirt accidentally cut his palm with the knife, he swore and cut off the fish's head, then threw it out.

Sae looked up and saw the steady drops of blood falling from her father's hand and got up to look at it, "Dad! You're bleeding!"

Hirt nodded, "Yeah I noticed," But he just started gutting the next fish. Sae grabbed his hand, wrapped it with a washcloth and mumbled indistinct words. After removing the cloth, Hirt saw that the cut was gone, but instead of being surprised he looked into Sae's blue eyes, "Where did you learn to do that?"

Sae shrugged, "I found out how to do it from a book in the living room."

Hirt resumed gutting fish, "You mean 'To Form Qi, Beginner's Edition?'"

Sae nodded and picked up her clay bowl and set it next to the bloody sink, "Are you mad, Dad?" Hirt threw a fish tail out the window, "No, I'm not mad, not even surprised, that you would follow my footsteps."

"You mean…"

"Mmm hmm."

With an energetic fire in her eyes Sae darted into the living room and came back with the book, "Can you teach me more, Dad?"

Hirt placed the last fish on the counter and pulled out the rag plugging the sink, "I may be able to, but it would be hard without the Labyrinth."

"Can we-"

"No. Not yet at least, you'd have to learn past the basics before even touching a fanged fish."

Sae did a little dance, "I'm going to go meditate!"

The screen door slammed again, and Hirt sighed, "Not with all that energy, you're not." Then after placing the fish in the ice crate he went outside. Flom was forking hay into the sheep pen and humming a happy tune. Near the shore on the other side of the island, Sae was sitting cross legged on a large rock, book in her lap. Surprised by how well she was meditating, Hirt looked to the sea. A small caravel was headed towards the island, bearing a flag Hirt did not recognize. One hundred feet away from the shore the boat stopped and a small paddle boat began nearing shore. Upon reaching the old dock near the house a tall young man wearing a leather vest and animal bones, a young lady wearing a purple coat, and a short boy wearing glistening armour and holding an elegant spear stepped out of the paddle boat and waved at Hirt.

Cautiously Hirt approached the trio, in somewhat of a defensive stance. The boy in the armour smiled innocently and spoke in a high voice, "Hello kind sir! I am Prince Asunio, and you are?"

Hirt lost his stance and shook Asunio's hand, "My name is Hirt, that's my son, Flom, in the sheep pen, and my daughter Sae way over there."

The man in the leather vest put out his hand and shook hands with Hirt, "Hail, mah name is Derith."

The young lady in the purple overcoat nodded, acknowledging Hirt with an air of respect, "My name is Rentos," she said, pushing back her long brown hair.

Asunio smiled again and asked politely, "My friend Savilo is sleeping in the ship, but we're here to ask you for advice."

Hirt raised his eyebrow, "Advice?"

Derith nodded, "Aye, an old friend of yours said that if we were to go to the Armoroad Labyrinth we should look up an old fisherman by the name of Hirt, who lives on an island outside of the port."

"Who is this friend?"

"A sailor who came around a few years ago, by the name of Eerineth." commented Rentos

Hirt looked and the ground and pondered for a few seconds, "Yeah, I remember him, nice fellow, smart too, he kept away from the Labyrinth."

Asunio laughed, "Well, can you please give us advice?"

Hirt frowned, "Yeah, I guess I can."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next day the ship sailed away with exclusive advice, although most of it was rather gloomy. Sae watched them sail away wishfully, she commented to her father, "Wouldn't that be fun."

Flom stared at the Yggdrasil that rose up from Armoroad, "Imagine what different plants grow in there."

That night, after everyone went to bed, Hirt had a dream. In his dream he was back in the Labyrinth, accompanied by one person, his wife. Everything went dark, and he heard her voice echoing throughout the marshy forest, "Why do you hide them?"

Hirt fell to his knees, "Who am I hiding?"

The voice adopted a scolding tone, "You know full well who you're hiding! Take them! Take them to the Labyrinth!"

Grasping at an excuse, Hirt pleaded, "There are too many complications!"

"The guild name is still in use, it is still valid!"

"But, but you died! You want to put them in the same position?"

"It is in our blood, Hirt, the rush for whatever is down there, you felt it and you yearn for it again! Take them to the Labyrinth!"

The floor was cold and Hirt wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. Sunlight shone into the room and Sae entered the room, "First time in years you've slept in, Dad."

Hirt sat up, those five words ringing in his ears, he stared into Sae's eyes, and mumbled, "Take them to the Labyrinth…"

Sae cocked her head, "Uh, what, Dad?"

Standing up he shakily gestured to Sae, "Go pack your things and tell Flom to do the same."

"We going somewhere?"

Hirt picked up a brown backpack and looked at her seriously, "The Labyrinth."

They were speeding along in a little dingy powered by Hirt and Flom rowing strongly, while Sae leaned over the edge of the boat watching the fish underneath the clear seawater. Flom sighed and stretched, "Why the sudden change of heart, Dad?"

Hirt's muscles flexed as he stroked, "A little Byrdie told me to."

"You mean Mom?" Exclaimed Sae, looking up from the sea.

"Something like that."

Sae sat down next to Flom's backpack and leaned up against it. She jumped a foot into the air when the bag baad. Hirt opened the bag and pulled out the fluffy ram, "You brought the sheep?"

Now they were around one-hundred-fifty feet away from the main port and Hirt was doing most of the rowing. Armoroad was beautiful this time of year, palm trees reflecting in the seawater, music on the streets, banners of newly made guilds flying through the air, but an air of gloomy dread revealed that these new guilds wouldn't last three floors. As Hirt and Sae climbed onto the dock a drunken sailor swaggered up to Sae, "*Hic* Hey beautiful, *hic* how about being entertainment for me and my buddies? *Hic*" Two other drunks sniggered and hobbled next to the sailor.

Hirt stepped in-between the trio and Sae, "Sleep it off, you thugs."

The first drunk crossed his eyes and mocked Hirt, "Ooooooh I'ma gunna swe*hic*ep it off!"

The thug to his right nudged the other, "Huu didja hear that? We'z thugs!"

Flom crawled onto the deck and stood next to Hirt, holding his pitchfork in his hand, "Are you that eager to fight?"

The first drunk shrugged, "Bleh, all *hic* we want is that girl there, we *hic* could take her by force," The drunk picked up a broken oar handle and swung it at Hirt. Neatly dodging the blow, Hirt retaliated by striking the drunk's neck, with his middle finger and forefinger, almost gently. The confused drunk staggered back, dropped his oar and gurgled, eventually falling into a vomiting heap on the deck.

The drunk on the right picked up a rope with a fishing hook on the end and began twirling it clumsily. The drunk released the rope and the hook flew towards Flom. Catching it neatly with his pitchfork, Flom embedded the pitchfork into the wooden dock with the hook snugly wrapped around it, and lunged at the drunk. After around five-seconds of tussling, Flom heaved the drunk into the water, with brought him back to sobriety in a shockingly fast time.

Bewildered, the final drunk fled the scene, only to slip on the first's vomit, sending him into a large barrel of lantern-squid eyes and tentacles. Sae shivered, "Ooh! Didn't leave anyone for me!"

Wiping his fingers on his pants, Hirt spat, "Nah, you don't want to even look at these men, much less touch them."

Watching the man in the water with pity and disgust, Flom commented, "Yech! I had to wrestle one! Aw, it's all over my coat! That's disgusting!"

Sae shook her head and hopped over the still vomiting drunken heap, "Lookit! The Explorer's Guild! Are we going to register as a guild now?"

Heading towards the welcoming building Hirt shook his head, "No, we can use my old guild, The Riftwalkers. I remember how annoying it was to fill out all the paperwork."

The Explorer's Guild wasn't much to look at inside, just an open yard with a single palm tree erected in the middle of the room. A single man leaned against the tree, a pile of papers up to his knees. He waved at Hirt and gestured that you come closer. He was quite tall, dark skinned, and was wearing a tannish robe that curled around on his head as well.

"Howdya do? Ja here to rejista?" He spoke, shaking Hirt's hand.

Shaking his head Hirt replied, "No, we already have a guild, just want to reacquaint ourselves to the world."

"Shure shure! Whajja the name of this guild?"

"The Riftwalkers."

"Shoo! I remember jat group, I thought jey all died, but I musht be mistaken. Yeah yup, I notify the Shenatus and the Butterfly Bishtro! Here's also ya Guild Card, for dem suspicious types."

After the exchange of thanks, the trio exited the building and began making their way towards the Butterfly Bistro, a beautiful little tavern that overlooked a waterfall. Upon arrival, and after taking their seats at the bar, an energetic barmaid half shouted at them, "Uh hiya! Be withya ina minute!" After giving a lady her drink and chatting for several minutes the barmaid bounced over to where Hirt was sitting. "Hi! My name is Missy! Now what can I get forya? Info, drink, gossip?"

The barmaid was fair and had purple eyes, which complemented her bright pink hair. She wore a somewhat revealing dress, barely tied together at all by a black ribbon at the front, and was obviously hired for two rather large reasons. Hirt shrugged, "I'll just have a pint of whatever's open."

The barmaid bounced off again to complete the order. A familiar face sat next to Hirt and ordered the same thing as Hirt. It was Derith, the young man from the day before, and Hirt swiveled in his chair, "Any luck in the Labyrinth, sonny?"

Derith looked over and smiled, "Well, I'll tell ya, we haven't gone in yet. The half-pint thinks we should join a guild instead of making our own, but no one will take us."

Hirt popped a peanut into his mouth from a small earthenware dish on the counter, "You're in luck, Derith, I just came from the Explorer's Guild, I renewed my guild you see, and you're welcome to join."

After pondering this for a moment, Derith shrugged, "It'd have to go over with the prince, his father made it clear that he was in charge until he joined a guild." Derith motioned to Asunio, Rentos, and another person who were sitting at a corner table. Asunio struggled to mount the bar stool, but managed with a little boost from Rentos, "Oh, greetings again, mister Hirt, what is it that you want?"

The barmaid returned with the two drinks and Hirt took a sip, "Well I'm offering you folks a place in my guild, it'd only be us, along with my son and daughter, until we found some more people. Do you accept?"

Asunio politely ordered a glass of juice, then he smiled politely towards Hirt, "I cannot help but accept, kind sir."

Derith finished off his mug and slammed it onto the counter and gestured for another, "Aye, that goes for me too."

Rentos smiled genuinely, "Sounds like fun, although I have to admit none of us are very strong."

Hirt swirled his mug around, "Well, that's the point, I guess I'll kind of be the trainer of the guild, but I'm sure you'll all grow strong. And you madam? I don't think we've met."

The young blonde, completely clad in armour, smiled kindly, "Yessir, I'll be joining the crew, I couldn't go far from my baby sister, Rentos."

Flom turned in his seat and stared at the lady, lost in her eyes. He lost his trance when Hirt lightly slapped the back of his head, "Don't stare, it's not polite. Well,? Greet the lovely lady!"

Flom went red as he held out his hand awkwardly, "Uh, hi, my name is… is… uh… Flom, yeah, Flom, w-what's yours?"

The lovely blonde shook his hand tenderly, brushing off the awkwardness, "My name is Savilo, Flom, would you like to join me over here for a drink?" Flom nodded and they walked slightly down the square bar and sat down. Flom was practically wilting, sitting there in front of Savilo, as she started babbling about different things.

Derith laughed, "Ha! That's the first time I've ever seen Savilo take the initiative."

Sae scooted over a stool, "Whaddya mean?"

Derith drank half of his new mug, "Well, because she is normally extremely shy, and keeps to herself. Rentos has to practically translate for her sometimes. Must be something about Flom that has shut off that switch or somethin'."

Asunio did a little spin on his barstool, "So mister Hirt, what's the name of our guild?"

"A long time ago, my wife named it The Riftwalkers, and that's what it's called."

After regaining his balance, Asunio drank his glass of juice, "So we enter the Labyrinth tomorrow morning then?"

"It's as good a time as any, little prince."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After paying twenty en at Naman's inn, Hirt, Derith, Flom, Savilo, and Rentos departed to the Entrance to the Labyrinth while Sae and Asunio slept in. Hirt had given instructions to the innkeeper, a loud brunette, to tell the two to explore the town and keep out of trouble when they woke up.

When they arrived at the Labyrinth gate a guard stopped them, and he looked them over, "Never seen you before, Guild Card please."

Hirt handed the Guild Card over and the guard scrutinized it, "Huh, Riftwalkers, looks official, head on in."

The guard stepped aside to allow them access, "Oh, I've been given a stack of empty maps to give first-timers, so here you go," The guard handed Hirt a rolled up parchment with a pen and inkwell. Hirt thanked the guard and the group headed down the downwards path, towards the massive forest.

Flom stared in amazement, "Whoa, that's amazing."

Hirt stared at the forest, he felt a nostalgic rush in his blood, he was having second thoughts about this though, "Are you guys sure about his?"

Derith flourished a crude mace, and tightened the iron buckler strapped to his arm, "Aye, sure as I've evah been."

The others nodded in agreement, Savilo brandishing a heavy spear and a massive thick iron shield, Flom had his pitchfork strapped to his back, and Rentos floated gracefully on two magical wings rising from her back, clutching a cube glowing blue.

Hirt shook his head disapprovingly, "No, no, never think you are ready for the Labyrinth, but always be sure that the Labyrinth is ready for you. You can only prepare as best you can."  
Without warning the trees closed overhead and all noise seemed to halt. Shafts of light littered the short tunnel of trees, which eventually opened up to a clearing, a waterfall cascaded at the back of the clearing, and another path branched off from the clearing near the waterfall. Flom bent over and picked a colourful flower and examined it's stem and leaves, "I don't see what's so wrong with this place it's rather peaceful."

Hirt snatched the flower from Flom's hand, "Bah! That's what everyone says, were only on the first floor. Most monsters here are smaller than Sae."

Flom wandered a bit and picked a petal off of a blossoming tree, "Most?"

Hirt peered down the path, "Yeah, Great Lynxes enjoy picking off novices down here. It's not too rare to bump into one farther along this floor."

Savilo tapped Hirt on the shoulder, "Do you hear that?" A slight slapping sound came from near the waterfall. A red fish a little bigger than a head popped out of the water and started propelling itself on the ground with its tail. A white frog as big as Derith's torso also emerged from the water, and croaked at Derith. Two more fish and another frog joined the scene a second later.

Hirt jumped back as the white frog slammed into the ground next to him, sending dirt into the air, "Don't let the frogs jump onto you, and don't let the fish encircle you! You'll be dead before we reach the next floor."

Rentos floated to the right and opened a book she was holding and began reading it. A fish snapped at her feet hopping up and down pathetically, and he looked down at it, saying the final word she snapped the book closed. A small circle appeared around the fish and exploded into an icy crystal, sending the fish flying back, but still hopping in anger. The furious fish lunged at Rentos, aimed directly at her chest. Swiftly Savilo slammed the fish into her shield sending it hurling into a pile of damp leaves.

The frog seized the opportunity to leap at Savilo's unguarded back. Savilo fell to the ground and the frog began biting at the back of her neck. Taking his pitchfork from his back Flom speared the frog in the side, sending it rolling directly into the path of a mighty swing from Derith. The frog's skull cracked open and it died lying next to a swampy tree.

The two remaining fish both hopped after Flom, one bit his ankle, causing him to go down on one knee, while the other one latched onto his shoulder blade. Flom brought the butt of the pitchfork against the head of the fish on his ankle, but it didn't budge from it's position. In one fluid motion Hirt grabbed the shoulder biting fish by the tail and tore out its spine. The fish went limp and fell to the ground, Hirt then crushed the ankle biter with his heel, covering his foot and Flom's pant leg with sticky blood.

Shocked and amazed, the rest of the party gaped. The final frog, being an opportunist, dived dangerously at Hirt, who, at the last second, brought his fist down on the frog. This blow caused the frog's tongue to fly out of it's mouth, which Hirt grabbed and began whirling the frog by the tongue, ending with the tongue ripping off, sending the frog headfirst into a solid tree.

Hirt helped Flom up, who in turn helped Savilo up, Hirt looked around the party, "One: Never let your guard down. Two: Follow my instructions!" He shot Flom and Savilo a scolding look, "And Three: Survive at any costs, as long as it doesn't endanger a companion."

Savilo leaned on her spear, "What if there is a scenario where these rules collide?"

Hirt put the frog tongue in his backpack, "Two is priority, One is expected, and Three is optional, but recommended."

Somewhat tenderly Hirt placed his hands on Savilo's back, "Haven't even made it past the first area and your quite injured, I'll have to fix that."

Savilo felt a surge of relief through her body, "Thank you, mister Hirt."

Hirt grunted, "Not so formal. We're all putting our lives on the line here, there will be no time for 'misters' in the future. That goes for all of you," He commented while healing Flom's injuries.

Derith pried a large tooth from what remained of one of the fish's jaws, "Are we all set?"

Hirt thumped Flom on the back, "Yeah, they're all fine for now. You all will be taking damage from now on, so don't go judging each other."

Derith shrugged, "This time the love birds got caught in a net together."

Hirt bopped him on the head, "And your machismo will get you eaten by a Titan Arum, sooner than later."

They continued down the path with very little problems, and Hirt was busily marking down landmarks, waterfalls, fruit vines and what they did, crevices in the trees and walls, side paths, and monster trails. Things went smoothly, Flom and Savilo stayed at the back, while Flom picked various herbs and flowers, Derith walked next to Hirt while they discussed various monsters and how they operated, and Rentos floated in-between the two conversations fitting in smoothly each time she switched.

This fluid traveling was interrupted by Hirt crouching by a corner peering into a grassy glade. Rolling to the other side of the entrance, Hirt observed what was happening in the large clearing. In the clearing a massive yellow cat with large tufted ears and reddish-orange eyes was using its immense paws to smash open a large durian, that was bleeding all over the cracked and empty shells of two other, former, Deadly Durians. With the last of it's strength the durian shot a blinding needle into the lynx's chest, and the lynx recoiled, throwing the dead durian across the glade, it's shell finally bursting open, revealing it's tender purple flesh.

Hirt heard Flom swallow down his stomach as the others watched the gory scene. The lynx was clawing at its eyes, yowling uncontrollably, and the area where the needle had pierced was now puffing up and bleeding. Derith fidgeted, "We need to shut it up before it attracts every monster in this stratum here!"

Hirt nodded, "Yeah, it sure is being noisy. Okay, kids, what to do here is somewhat simple. Stay away from its paws and its head, especially its head, those teeth could rip off your arms or your head. At the moment its weak spot is the chest. Everyone got that?"

The rest of the group nodded, "Got it."

Hirt slipped into the clearing, unnoticed by the suffering lynx, and the rest of the group followed. Until, that is, Savilo's armour clinked a little too loudly and the lynx saw the group of five. The lynx stood at full height, all its hairs stood on end, and massive jaw heaving up and down. Swift for its size, the lynx charged at Hirt, paws swinging in a dangerous dance. Hirt smoothly dodged each blow as it came, either ducking or jumping and occasionally sending the blow back to ground with well timed strikes, until he wasn't fast enough and the lynx took out his legs with a powerful blow. Jumping to the offense, Derith swung his club at the lynx's left shoulder and the blow caused a sickening crack to resound throughout the clearing. The lynx twisted its torso, causing its now limp arm to swing around, knocking Derith flat.

Rentos floated to the right side of the lynx, and sent an icicle flying towards the lynx's chest, where it dug into the thorn wound and burst. The lynx yowled and jumped back, blood soaking its fur coat. Taking advantage of the pause, Savilo hopped forward and thrust her spear into the wound, causing even more blood to squirt out. The lynx swung its right arm at Savilo, but she blocked most of the damage with her shied. Flom helped Hirt up, who had already healed his own legs and Hirt began running towards Savilo, who was still taking a beating from the furious lynx. As Hirt neared Savilo, he jumped, over Savilo and onto the back of the Lynx.

The lynx jumped up and began bucking like a horse, while Hirt slammed his fists into the back of the lynx's neck repeatedly, until its spine snapped and it fell to the ground, making bloody mud underneath its mutilated corpse. Hirt stumbled to his feet and looked skyward, "We should be heading back to town for lunch, Asunio and Sae are probably awake. First things first, anyone hurt badly enough to be taken care of? How about you Derith? That blow looked like it hurt."

Derith shook his head, "Nae, it's nothin' I can't walk off."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Bistro was humming with excitement, old veterans swapping stories, young ones counting bruises, and local denizens talking about different things, and it all mixed into one quaint and, quite untidy, package. Missy buzzed around the square bar, chatting for long spells with **everyone**, while somehow still being able to fill every order. After a couple laps around the room, asking **everyone **how their day was, Missy bounced over to the group, who were now with Asunio and Sae, and took everyone's order, along with a little comment or two about something or other that really wasn't that relevant, and no two comments were related.

In between mouthfuls of food, Asunio and Sae eagerly related what they had done together while the others were gone, Sae spun in her chair, causing her pigtails to smack into the face of patient Rentos, "After sleeping beauty woke up we came over here to the Bistro and ate breakfast…"

Asunio huffed haughtily, "I distinctly remember wake _you_ up, Sae!"

Sae shrugged indifferently, "Whatever Suni, we ate breakfast here and we talked with miss Missy a lot."

Asunio stared at Sae, "_You_ talked with her a lot, I just sat there looking like a mute."

"Shush Suni. I'm telling the story."

"Wrongly."

"Shush!"

Derith leaned towards Flom, "Suni? What all happened while we weren't here?"

Flom shrugged, "I have no idea, she almost never creates nicknames for people, she usually keeps to us."

Derith sloshed his ale around, "Well she don't seem shy now."

Flom smirked, "Not at all."

Sae continued telling her story, with Asunio butting in to correct her every other sentence, while everyone else listened patiently, even Missy was listening. Somehow the way Sae told it it seemed more dangerous than what every one went through in the Labyrinth minutes ago, and Missy was listening with great fascination. Derith nudged Hirt, "Imagine the stories she'll start telling when she gets into the Labyrinth, she'll be a famous lass."

Hirt sighed and swigged his ale, "Heaven forbid she stay silent about a butterfly that flew past her towards a flower. The way she'd tell it it'd be made a ballad," He said dryly.

After swallowing a French fry, Sae continued on, "Then we went to Inver Port! It was amazing there, and Suni's caravel was there, and **I got to go on board**," She said with massive emphasis, "It was cool, the ship was called the _Wavemate_, it was great."

The story finally ended about ten minutes before it started, when they all met outside. Hirt noticed that she had attracted a small crowd, and they dispersed once she had finished, allowing her to finish her now cold food. Hirt stood up and stretched and began wandered around the Bistro. The restaurant wasn't very large, octagonal in shape with a rounded square bar in the middle. Behind the counter of the bar a large tree grew, past the roof where a hole was cut int the roof, and in the tree was cut a number of shelves, all equipped with liquor. A small stove was situated at the back of the tree where Missy managed to cook all the meals. The building was very bright, due to the scarcity of walls, and a thin roof.

Hirt was shaken from his observation by a loud argument at a back table. A large man was towering over a small dark skinned girl, yelling at her with a terrible voice, "You stupid gypsy! You can't fight and you can't even hold a knife properly! You are completely useless! I'm kicking you out of my guild! Dust Steed has no need of your stupidity any more!"

The man raised his hand and struck the girl, sending her flying into a stool at the bar. As the man advanced to attack her again, Hirt jumped in, slugging the brutish man with a deadly blow. The man stumbled backwards, "Mind yer own business, you old fogey!" The repulsive man swung at Hirt's head, and Hirt blocked carelessly. Then Hirt grabbed the man by the back of his neck and slammed the man's head into his knee, causing him to stumble back and fall out of the Bistro, and into a pond fed by a small waterfall.

The others from the guild Dust Steed stood up to confront Hirt, but backed off when Derith and Flom joined Hirt, all three standing in between the crying girl, who was now being cared for by Missy and the female counterpart of the guild. The man outside the Bistro stood up, sopping wet and a small cod hanging off his shirt, "I'll get you someday, Fogey!" Then he made a very rude gesture and stormed off, with the rest of the Dust Steed skulking behind him.

Sae glared at the abusive guild leader, "You shoulda made him do that vomiting-uncontrollably thing that happened on the dock."

Hirt chuckled, "Nah, Missy keeps this place too clean for that, but I am sure he'll be puking back at his place, the way I slugged him."

The small dark-skinned girl stood up, with the help of Savilo and Rentos, and held the right side of her face, "T-thank you, uh…"

Hirt held out his hand, "Hirt, guild leader of The Riftwalkers, at your service."

Timidly shaking his hand the girl smiled faintly, "Thank you mister Hirt, m-my name is, uh… Ubu! Right, my name is Ubu."

Ubu wasn't very tall, she had the looks of a seventeen-year-old, and she had a large unkept tangle of cocoa brown hair that was impaled by two large white and red feathers. She wore a cloth resembling a one-piece bathing suit that had intricate designs all over it, along with boots that reached up almost to her sharp knees and she also wore leather gauntlets over her wrists. Two small wings sprouted from her chest (that were sewn onto her "dress") that covered her shoulders and a braided grass necklace fell from her neck to her stomach.

Tenderly healing her swollen eye, Sae smiled at the curious girl, "So what's with the giddup?"

Ubu touched her face in amazement, "Well it's customary Wildling clothing, for women that is, for men it's a little different,"

Everyone was back at their seats now and Hirt sat next to Ubu, "So what are you doing here, Ubu?"

Ubu poked at her plate, "I'm looking for my older brother, Zinoxil. He told me he would come to this Labyrinth and live in the first stratum until I could find him, but he told me to give him a two-year head start."

Hirt shook his head, "Two years? He might have-" He stopped when he saw Ubu's eyes starting to water, "Uh, already made it to the fourth floor." He said with a hint of hesitance.

Ubu perked back and Hirt let out a sigh of relief, he had just narrowly avoided opening the waterworks. This feeling was reenforced by Derith exaggerated wiping his forehead and Savilo giving Hirt a warning look. Hirt toyed with a bread stick, "So are you looking to join a guild?"

Ubu shrugged and popped a fry into her mouth, "Guess so, I think I was just kicked out of my last one."

Derith nudged Flom, causing him to upset his glass of wine, "She thinks?" He whispered with a humorous tinge.

Flom smirked and sipped his wine, "Seems like this whole group has their own quirks."

Derith nodded, not the most soberly, "I know my quirks, but I haven''t seen yours, you don't tend to show."

Flom flicked the rim of his glass, now empty, "Well, mine aren't the most noticeable, and I tend to hide them well."  
Savilo leaned towards Flom and whispered in his ear, "Than I'll try to find them."

Derith burst out laughing and ordered two more ales, "Ha! Here man, have an ale, no more of that grape juice! Ha! Find them, ha, that's new…" Derith slumped at the bar momentarily, but soon recovered once the two ales reached the counter, and he smiled at Missy slightly soberly, "Thank you miss Missy, you have saved my life."

Before Derith could pick up the ale Hirt snatched it away, "Didn't Sae tell you what I did to the drunks on the dock? I hate it when people get drunk," He drank the tankard dry, "everything in moderation, boy, everything in moderation," Hirt continued his conversation with Ubu, "so you're thinking about my offer?"

Ubu bounced on her stool, "I think it would be wonderful at your guild, mister Hirt!"

Hirt waggled his finger, "You can drop the 'misters' if you're gonna join us, Ubu."

Later that evening, Hirt had gathered everyone in one Inn room, "Okay you guys, I can really only go down with you guys four at a time, any more would just be chaotic and pretty much boring, 'cause none of you would learn anything. I'll be taking two groups a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. I took the liberty of posting up a schedule on the door, there are five days a page, each with two boxes with four spaces. We will not be doing weekends. The group that is gone will try to be back by lunch, supper, or breakfast. If plans change than I will try to get a message to you. Does everyone understand?"

The group nodded and Sae raised her hand politely, "What about the Firm?"

Flam scratched his head, "You mean Napier's Firm, the store?"

Sae nodded. Hirt sighed, "I will buy the medicas, but if you want more weapons and armour you'll have to save up with the allowance I'll give you. After a trip to the labyrinth I want you all to pile whatever you picked up that is of value in this straw basket, in which I will sell and divide it up to the group that collected it. Any questions?"

Silence answered his question and Hirt gave a gesture for them to leave. Once they had all filed out, Hirt heard the faint scratching on pencil on paper outside his door. Then Hirt began preparing his bag for the second trip, placing three medicas in, one medica 2, and a small package of trail mix. He also pulled out the frog tongue from earlier that day and tossed it into the straw basket.

After preparing what was needed he headed out into the hall, which was empty, and looked at the schedule: Sae, Derith, Flom and Savilo tonite and in the morning was going to be Asunio, Sae, Rentos, and Ubu. Sae bounced down the hallway, "C'mon Dad, everyone's waiting!" She grabbed his hand roughly and tore out of the building, Hirt in tow. Derith, Flom, and Savilo stood under the lamp light, each with small packs strapped to their back.

Derith shifted uneasily, "Are we all prepared?"

Hirt nodded, "Yeah, I just want you guys to know that at night, it's a lot more challenging."

Sae hopped excitedly, "Really? Fun!"

Hirt raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you'll be able to handle it twice in a row?"

She nodded, and they all plodded off into the night, Hirt and Flom carrying well oiled lamps. The Labyrinth was devoid of the subtleness that it was that morning, no longer did flowers glisten, butterflies dance, or sunlight provide a ray of hope. All that remained was the ghostly moon floating above the clawing trees and the seemingly constant back-noise that consisted of wet slaps, clicking, purring, and other assorted freakish racket.

Sae shivered and clung to Hirt, "This is a lot different than what you told me it was like this morning!"

Hirt put a finger to his lips, "Yeah, I told you it was a whole different place at night."

They walked stealthily down the paths, winding and twisting, waiting in some areas to allow Hirt to adjust the map, which was now growing slowly in size. At one particular stopping area, Flom was inspecting a glowing mushroom patch that was growing on the rock that Hirt was perched on, scribbling a side note about the strange tracks that were scattered about. Flom picked one mushroom and stared at it, taking in every detail about it, "Hm, it isn't poisonous, or else there wouldn't be tooth marks in some of the other ones, but, what does it _do?_"

Sae bounced over to him, "Can I try some?"

Flom shook his head, "No, let me look in this book that I bought at the Firm…" After skimming through the pages he found that less than a quarter of the book was filled, and in careful handwriting on the page after the last entry it told Flom:

_The categorization of plants in the Labyrinth is limited, please record you discoveries in this book with the space provided. We have found, however that looks may not be what they seem, or they could be exactly what it looks like. Be careful when tasting the plants you find, it is usually best to look at a few telltale signs of Eat or Don't Eat, like look for nibble marks on the plants, check if the plant is sentient, or dissect it before trying it. As a word of advice though, don't go stuffing every plant you see in your mouth and writing down exactly how you're dying. Be careful and thorough, since the plants aren't going anywhere, but you might._

After he read this, Flom began sketching the mushrooms and filled out the first page, naming the mushroom simply, Glowshroom, then he filled out the necessary information, minus the 'effect after consumption' section. Flom hesitantly observed the small Glowshroom he had picked, and the words of the book echoed in his mind, _We have found, however that looks may not be what they seem, or they could be exactly what it looks like, _and he pondered whether he should eat the mushroom.

Savilo joined him and asked, "So are you going to eat it or not? If it's poisonous I was given a Theriaca B that I could administer, and of course I know how to give mouth to mouth recitation, "And with that she fluttered her eyes slightly.

Flom blushed slightly and popped the small shroom into his mouth, chewed and swallowed. The Glowshroom was chewy, but it went down easily. Flom backed away from Savilo and said, "If I blow up, try to put me back together again." As a reply Savilo smiled kindly. Flom closed his eyes, his body feeling different every second. Tears began flowing freely from his eyes, sweat dribbled down his face, and his mouth began filling up with saliva. Quickly Flom spat out the excess spit and wiped his eyes, "Uh, Savilo? Would you mind writing down, *spit*, opens up tear and sweat glands to flow freely, *spit hhhaackk spit* and causes incredible salivary disfunction. *Hhhaackk spit*, Also a slight head ache." Savilo wrote down what he told her in a very neat, cute handwriting, adding her own little side notes here and there.

Flom's mushroom problem eventually cleared up and Hirt finished making notes about different things on the map, so they continued onwards, after Flom stuffed a couple Glowshrooms in his bag. Savilo eyed him curiously, "How come you're taking some back? You know better than anyone what it did to you."

Flom shrugged, "Maybe mixed with something else it could make a healing salve, maybe a useful battle potion, who knows,"

Derith shifted uneasily, "I don't like all this suspense, at least this morning the monsters were eager, now they just watch us."

Hirt smirked, "Then don't sign up for anymore evening trips."

"Don't worry I won't."

A repetitive clacking noise filled the air, originating in a wet clearing just ahead of them, and Hirt peeked around the corner, and he muttered sourly, "Gigapede? What is one doing on this level? They usually stick to the second one, it's rare for them to come all the way down here."

Derith stared at the grey-ish brown monster, clicking around, scrummaging in the dirt, examining the occasional set of tracks and clicking it's front pinchers together as if it were a bad habit, and Derith whispered to Hirt, "Hey, you told me about this guy, uh, it binds your legs and then eats you slowly, right?"

Hirt nodded glumly, "Yup, although their legs catch a decent price, and so do their jaws."

Derith grinned, "Oh, finally, some excitement, no more slinking around."

Hirt stopped him from dashing into the clearing and he pointed towards the exit path on the other side of the clearing, "Wait, see there, it's somehow enlisted two Deadly Durians to guard that side of the clearing. We're going to have to deal with those too."

Hirt stuck two of his fingers in the ground and let out a deep breath. Two faint bumps began working their way towards the unsuspecting Durians, and when they were directly under the Durians they exploded into tendrils. One of the Durians hopped out of the way of the swarm of black madness, while the other was engulfed in the web of death. After the Durian had stopped struggling against it it's shell cracked and was devoured completely, leaving only two thorns imbedded in the ground.

The surviving Durian sprung over to the Gigapede and made a strange noise, with which the Gigapede became infuriated and began executing the Durian, slamming its claws onto the Durian's shell, breaking it as if it were clay, and biting at its exposed flesh. After thoroughly killing its former henchman the Gigapede began prowling around the clearing searching for the next thing to unleash its anger upon.

Sae held in a scream when she sat on a burr, letting it out as a quiet whine. The Gigapede raised its head and looked at the path that was the party's hiding place. Cautiously crawling towards the path with its head lowered and a high pitched hiss reverberated throughout the clearing. Savilo was the first to spring from cover, slamming her shield into the chattering maw, catching the Gigapede completely off guard. Next was Derith, who promptly smashed the Gigapede's jaw with his club, causing it to stagger backwards, utterly shocked and confused. Sae launched herself towards the massive bug, mid-air she caught one of the Gigapede's arms and snapped it off, and her spring ended with her sitting dumbfounded and sitting in a muddy clump of bushes.

The Gigapede screamed in fury and wheeled around to charge at Sae, that is until Hirt lunged in between Gigapede and girl. Hirt brought his fist skywards and struck the Gigapede on the jaw. Hirt's fist stayed there for a second and suddenly burst into flame, engulfing the bewildered Gigapede's head in a furious inferno. The Gigapede body slammed Hirt and sent him flying, landing next to Sae, who was now beginning to stand up, until Hirt bowled her over.

Now on a rampage, the Gigapede swiped a claw at Derith, tearing at his stomach. Derith collapsed, but not before swinging his club mightily, completely smashing half of the Gigapede's face. Flom rushed to the side of Derith, quickly applying a gooey salve to the long cut across Derith's stomach. Derith coughed up some blood, "Och, you can patch me up later, mate, right now, kill the bug."

Flom nodded solemnly and rejoined the fray, but not before dragging Derith over to the edge of the clearing. Aiming at its oozing face, Savilo attacked with her lance. The Gigapede dodged the blow to the head, but the broad-tipped spear caught it in the throat, causing one of its armour plates to sink into its flesh, causing an intense bleeding.

Hirt hopped to his feet and leaped onto the back of the Gigapede's neck, and grabbing ahold on its remaining arm, he snapped it from the second joint up. Following this attack, Hirt grappled onto the half of the head that the Gigapede had left, and began striking at different places with different fingers, and each time he struck it caused a different reaction within the Gigapede's body. Finally when he was done, he jerked the Gigapede's head to the right with a sickening crick.

Sae sped over to Derith, who had now blacked out, and inspected the wound, "Dad, I don't think we can do anything here, we have to get him back to town, even Flom's emergency paste is collapsing!"

Hirt nodded, after collecting the remnants of the Gigapede's jaw and its two dismembered legs. "Yeah, Flom, You carry him, if you need help get Sae to help you. We are going to have to hurry, every monster on this floor's gonna be after Derith."

They began at a hurried walk, Flom and Sae carried the unconscious Derith, Hirt in the front and Savilo in the back. As they hurried along the path, frogs, fish, and durians jumped into Hirt's path and he skillfully "brushed" them away. Flom stumbled as a fleshy tongue whipped at his angle. Hirt spoke, "You'll never make it at this pace, I'll occupy them for a while, until you have made it back."

Savilo stood wide eyed, "No! What about the Rules?"

Hirt smiled patiently, "Two, dear Savilo, is priority."

Flom nodded soberly, "Don't worry about him, he won't die, but if we don't let him do this, Derith will."

Hirt tossed Savilo the map, "He's wise for his age, listen to him."

Savilo caught the map unhappily and took point, until Hirt could no longer see them. Hirt turned around and faced the ever-growing pack of monsters that had been chasing them. He adopted a offensive stance, "No further, beasties."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The fight was steady, though it was an uphill battle. Hirt managed to heal himself when the situation was dire, but his stamina was waning. The braver frogs had flung themselves at him, only for their heads to be crushed in single blows, and fish threw themselves at him suicidally. The bigger problems were the Durians injecting him with a blinding poison and the two Great Lynxes skulking in the background.

Hirt blacked out for a split second, allowing a frog to crack one of his ribs with a jump. Hirt instinctively brought his elbow down with a skull shattering crack. He no longer possessed the energy to heal himself and the Durian's poison was beginning to sink in. Hirt racked his brain as he fled momentarily to get closer to the stairs. Hirt finally reached the waterfalled clearing by the entrance of the Labyrinth, and he laid momentarily by a tree, breathing heavily. Soon the glade was filled with fish, frog, and nut, along with the two Lynxes. Hirt smirked, "Well, beasties, what are you gonna do ta me?"

Making all sorts of cheerful noises the horde of minion monsters piled onto Hirt, cracking bones, tearing flesh, and stabbing with cone-like needles, until one of the Lynxes yowled. The monsters piled off of Hirt, now limp, and allowed the smaller lynx to approach the still body of Hirt. Yowling and hissing it began beating his broken body with its ponderous paws.

_"So this is what I die like?"_ Hirt thought to himself as he ragdolled around the clearing, "_Now do I leave seven witless children alone, fending for themselves? "_

The massive cat sunk its teeth into Hirt's shoulder, but Hirt barely felt it under the poison of the Durians.

Suddenly there was a bright light and all monsters were gone from the glade. Hirt stood alone in the middle, standing over his bashed body. A young lady in a white dress appeared from behind him and stood next to him. They stared at his body for a while until Hirt looked at the her in the eyes, "So am I dead now?"

The beautiful lady nodded, "You should be, but there is more for you to do for those youth, you cannot simply die now."

Hirt kneeled down and poked at his defeated body, "Even if I do make it out, this body won't do for much else than for fish bait."

The elegant lady laughed genuinely, "Oh, I know that. Hirt, I will bestow upon you a a rare gift. You are to only use it in the Labyrinth, and only on your guild members. Understood?"

Hirt nodded solemnly, but did not say anything. The lady brushed back some black hair from her eyes, "The power of resurrection. Not completely all-powerful although. The person may not be long dead and it is quite draining. Do you accept?"

Hirt smiled, "Sure thing."

The ground was cold and grassy, and Hirt was supposed to be there in the first place. At all. He sat up straight and look around. He sat by the back of the glade, facing the middle. The horde was gone for the most part and all that remained was a Fish gnawing at an unidentifiable corpse. Hirt stood up unsteadily, and the Fish flopped back into the pool.

Hazily, Hirt started up the path to Armoroad and slowly, but surely, he reached the gate, The guard eyed him bewilderedly, "Yer from that guild right? Carrying a dying man that aways and such, one of them babbled to me, but I didn't understand her."

Hirt wheezed, "How long ago was that?"

Taking a moment to think, the guard rubbed his chin, "I'd say, umm, two and a half hours ago."

Placing his hands on his hips and whistling, Hirt erected his back, "Ha! They all must think I'm dead!"

"Undoubtedly."

"Great fun!"

"What?"

"Think how happy they'll be!"

"I wager one of them will slap you."

Raising his eyebrow Hirt looked at the guard, "Why's that?"

"People react to sorrow differently, imagine what a person'd do if this reaction was unfounded."

"Why are you a guard? You could be something like, a scholar or something."

"Someone has to do it."

Hirt brought himself to his full height, ""Well, best not to postpone the inevitable."

As Hirt was walking off, the guard saluted good-naturedly, "Best of luck."

"Dad!" Exclaimed Sae as Hirt entered the main room of the Inn, she embraced him lovingly, "I was so worried about you!"

Hirt stood unmoving, a slight smile on his face, "Well, _that_ was unnecessary."

Flom was sitting atop the bed with Savilo next to him, both leaning on the back board, "See Sav? Told you you didn't have to worry."

Ubu appeared in the doorway, "Hirt!" And with that she sprung full force at him, bowling him over, "I heard that you stayed behind! You had _most_ of us worried!" She glared momentarily at Flom, who shrugged indifferently.

Rentos, who had just entered from the doorway as well, pulled the yammering girl off of Hirt and helped him up, "Good to see you back, Hirt."

Asunio in his blue pajamas, which were decorated with an array of crowns running up and down the legs, groggily rubbed his eyes, "For the record I never doubted you, just putting it out there."  
Savilo got off the bed and approached Hirt, with a look in her eyes that made his smile fade. She brought her hand up and sharply smacked Hirt across the cheek. There was a brief silence, and then Savilo suddenly began weeping and embraced Hirt in a child-like manner.

At that moment it rushed to Hirt the gravity of what he had done. He had taken one of the most shy people in the city, put her into a gut wrenching scenario, and then told her to take the lead, leaving behind a much-needed father figure. Hirt protectively wrapped his arms around her and embraced her back, "Forgive me, dear Savilo."

Savilo let go of him and stepped back, sniffling, "Please don;t do that to me again!"

Hirt shrugged, "Your job is as a Protector of sorts, no? That being there will be more points where I'm going to ask you to protect, whether that means leading the group out or standing by me to ensure no one dies. I ask you to understand this."

Savilo sniffled loudly and sat down next to Flom on the bed, "I understand," She said waveringly. Flom placed one arm around her and he leaned on his chest.

Hirt touched his cheek where Savilo had hit him, "I'm just glad she wasn't wearing her gauntlets anymore," Hirt shivered, "_That_ would have hurt."

There was a familiar laugh from the hallway, and Derith entered the room, hand hovering over his stomach, "Still have a sense o' humour old man? Thought you woulda have had to leave it behind to distract some of the monsters."

With half-masked eyes and a voice tainted with sardonic tone, Hirt observed, "Well I see you made a quick recovery in two and a half hours."

Derith shrugged, "I dunno what they did, but it's doing its job. Though the doctor said that my stomach is now on my list of weak points."

Hirt began tossing monster parts into the loot basket, "Along with your head and your nuts?"

Sae laughed and looked through the loot basket, "Aren't those all men's weak points?"

Derith laughed it off, "Anyways, did you notice the board when you came in?"

"I did," Remarked Hirt, "One space left empty still. Are you going to be up for tomorrow night's excursion?"

Nodding Derith began walking out the door again, "I'm 'fraid that if I stop to long, I'll stop completely."

Inspecting the Gigapede leg with satisfaction, Hirt glanced up into Derith;s eyes, "Side effect of the Arena?"

Derith stopped in the doorway, "How did you…"

Standing up so he could look at the Gladiator in the eye, Hirt confessed, "I suspected as much when I first saw you, the way you carried yourself, your animal skins and the teeth, and my suspicions were confirmed when I saw you with your Macana (Club), you swung with devastating skill and wielded it like an adept."

Derith nodded, "It's true, I was apart of a gladiatorial team from the city I came from. It was fun, but I wanted to do something more exiting, so I volunteered to escort Princey to Armoroad," and with that he hobbled back to the room that had been purchased-rented for the men down the hall. Saying their good-nights, Rentos, Ubu, and Sae went back to the Girl's room and Asunio returned to the Men's.

Hirt glanced at Flom and Savilo, Flom's arm still around Savilo and Savilo's head still resting on his chest, "Well are you forcing me to sleep in the Men's room or are you going to get out of my bed?"

Savilo apologized and left the room and Flom soon did too, each returned to their own rooms, but not after a few parting words and a lingering tension. Flom extinguished the lamps and laid down in his bed. He was beginning to nod off when…

"Baaaaaaaaa!"

"Flom! Get your ass over here and get rid of this damnable sheep!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Early that morning, Hirt, Asunio, Sae, Rentos, and Ubu sat in the Bistro, eating breakfast and chatting every now and then with Missy. "I heard one of your members got injured!" She'd say to Hirt, "How is he?"

Hirt smiled back, "Just fine, fine enough to joke and fine enough to be witty."

Missy then would bounce over to Rentos and confess, "You know he sure is a handsome guy, your hut friend."

Rentos didn't look up from her fried eggs, "If you say so," she replied in a don't-care voice and continued eating.

Sae was next on Missy's hit list, "So tell me about last night!"

Sae finished off her bowl of cereal and told the story extravagantly, majorly emphasizing her father's heroics, although she didn't make her leap at the Gigapede sound like nothing either.

When Sae had finished, a slim young lady approached her and sat down next to her, "That's quite the story, kiddo. So how did you manage to join a guild?"

Sae looked at the fine lady. She was a slightly taller than Rentos, and wore mostly black, except for a long orange neckerchief. Around her slim waist she wore a large belt with many different pouches and pockets. Her hair was a very dark purple, and her eyes were serious. She had a fair face with a smallish nose, and her mouth seemed accustomed to a straight line or a frown.

"Well," Sae explained, "My father, Hirt, is the Guild Head."

"Ah." The mysterious woman remarked, "Where can I find your father?"

Hirt raised his finger and leaned backwards so he could be seen by the stranger, "Uh, right here, whadya need?"

The woman got off of the seat and bowed foreignly, "My name is Wel-lo, sir. I would like to know if I could join your guild and be trained under you. I have heard from talk around here that you teach young warriors the path to being a honorable warrior."

Hirt looked surprised, "Huh, word travels fast, don't it?"  
"If I dare ask, what is your answer sir?"

Hirt shrugged, "Sure, it's fine by me."

For a brief moment a smile flickered on her face, but it quickly straitened out, "Thank you, Hirt-Sensei. I will not be the cause of any dishonor."

Hirt faintly smiled, "I'm sure you won't be. Tell me, the manner that you speak and the way of which you act, tell me that you are from the East, no?"

Wello bowed again, "Yes Sensei. There is something about you that tells me you are also from the East, would I be correct?"

Hirt nodded soberly, "Yes, I am from the East, but I dropped my accent a long time ago. You can go to the Inn we have rented nearby and unpack. It's called Aman's Inn It would also be in your best wishes to acquaint yourself with the rest of my guild."

Wello repeated her bow one more, "Yes Hirt-Sensei." And she speedily gathered her suitcase that was sitting nearby and sped off.

Ubu stared as the eager Wello departed, "How come we can't even call you Mister, but she can do the whole 'Sensei' thing?"

"Because, dearest Ubu, it's part of Eastern culture, it's really quite complicated."

The group decided to go on a winding, unexplored trail that led to a petty encounter with some Fish and a Frog. They did, however, discover a beautiful clearing with a large pile of wood at its center. The group found that the wood needed a little coaxing to be removed from its place, and that it seemed to be an infinite supply of different woods. After removing two nice pieces of a supple branch and placing them in Hirt's pack, they continued off into the unexplored regions.

They walked down a dimly lit trail, and turned a corner to find a dead end. Grumpily marking this down on the map, Hirt mumbled something unhearable.

Ubu, ever curious hopped over to a old, hollowed out tree and looked inside of it. Something caught her eyes. Up a further ways was a glistening object, and Ubu unwittingly reached for it. Swiftly Hirt pulled her back just as a set of jaws snapped down, right where Ubu's hand had been. A Frog slid out of the hollow trunk, and stood up on its hind legs.

The pinkish Frog was much larger than the normal white ones, and the end of its tongue glistened beautifully. As three more normal Frogs slid out of the trunk, Hirt swore, "A Spotted Frog. There had to be one on this whole floor, and _we_ had to find it!"

Eye's beginning to shimmer, Ubu's lip quivered uncontrollably, "I-I-I'm s-s-sorry, Hirt, I-I-I didn't mean to…"

Hirt winced as waterworks began to flow and before Hirt could try to stop the crying, a lesser Frog slammed into him. The rest of the party drew weapons, but the Frog nuzzled Ubu, appearing to try to ease her pain. Irately, the Spotted Frog half barked, half croaked at the sympathetic Frog.

Shamed, the Frog bounced back to the side of the massive Frog, and almost seemed to croak a excuse. Quickly hopping to his feet, Hirt managed to stop Ubu from crying and focus her on what needed to be dealt with.

Rentos was the first to act, picking off one of the lesser Frogs with a well aimed icicle. Sae was next and without hesitation she brought a closed fist down onto the pink Frog's head. The Frog angrily butted Sae with its head, causing her to stumble and fall. Swiftly Hirt roundhouse-kicked the frog in the face, causing it to roll backwards, stunned. Ubu was dancing frantically in the background chanting some animalistic words. In response to her words, a hole opened up in the ground next to her, and a large mole climbed out of it. Asunio thrashed out methodically with his ornate spear, felling one of the smaller Frogs.

The last remaining lesser frog launched itself at the fallen Sae, only to be plucked out of the air by a lightening bolt that sprayed from Rentos' open palm. Infuriated, the Spotted Frog lashed out with its glistening tongue at Hirt, who effectively dodged the attack and moved closer with a sidestep, striking at the Frogs eyes at the same time. Recoiling from the pain, the Frog fell back gurgling pathetically only to receive a mole, who jumped onto the stomach of the upturned frog and began slashing away at its soft throat.

With a final gurgle and a last minute kick, the Frog died, and the mole dived into the ground, but not after making a little chirp at Ubu, who replied with a innocent, "Thankya Stewart!"

Hirt began salvaging the battlefield, "Stewart?"

Ubu nodded, "Yahuh, that was this mole's name, he sure was a cutey!"

Asunio raised his eyebrows and whispered to Sae, "Cutey? He didn't look that cute when he was tearing that Frog a new breathing hole."  
Sae shrugged, "I guess for a Wildling any animal has the potential to look cute. Just like you know what you like," And she walked a little and looked over her shoulder, "Right?"

Startled, Asunio stood speechless and reddening in the cheeks. Rentos laughed approvingly, "The backwards glance always works."

Asunio rubbed the red out of his cheeks, "What's _that _supposed to mean?"

Rentos flipped open her _Ice and Lightening _tome, "She likes you, and she wants you to return the feeling."

Asunio cleaned the tip of his intricate spear skittishly, "I-I-I like as... a friend too."

Rentos looked up from her book for a moment with a disappointed glint in her eyes, "You know full well what I mean, Princey."

Asunio sighed and gazed at Sae, who was having a chat with Ubu, and wistfully said, "How could _that_ work? The daughter of a fisherman and a prince?"

Rentos laughed again, "If you were really worried about having noble relations you never would have left the castle."

Staring at the dirt now, Asunio grasped at an excuse, "Yeah, but the blood is too different, I mean, what would be the good in a relationship like that?"  
Rentos finished the page before snapping the book closed and responding, "_The Blood is too Different?_ Let me tell you something, kiddo. Your blood is no different than the blood of that frog over there, or Hirt's, or mine, or Sae's. It runs through your body, sustains you, and occasionally spills, blood is blood, not a rank."

Sitting down on a mossy rock, Asunio pondered this knowledge, "If you put it that way, I would be "marrying up" if me and Sae got together, wouldn't I?"

Hirt walked past them, holding his map in front of him, "Damn straight you would, Princey."

Rentos smiled and floated off, behind Hirt, "Have you always had such good hearing?"

Hirt turned the corner, "Run in my blood, although, blood is blood, right?"

Mouth agape and eyes wide, Asunio began walking down the path as well, several feet ahead of Sae and Ubu, who were still chatting about something unrelated.

Back at the Bistro, lunch was a grand production. A nice section of the bar was taken over by the RiftWalkers and it was all great fun. Sae and Asunio sat at the middle of the group, Sae telling stories and Asunio correcting her at most points. Ubu was chatting away with Rentos, who was patiently listening to her, and Flom and Savilo sat next to each other at the end of the row, sharing a large plate of food. Wel-lo never seemed far from Hirt's side, but she told him that she had made friends with the Guildmembers who were at the Inn that morning. Derith sat next to Sae and Asunio, but was really talking to Missy, whenever she was free she seemed to hang around the unshaven Gladiator, and always seemed to tie the bow at the front of her dress less tightly each meal Derith was present.

Hirt wiped his mouth, handed his plate to Missy, and turned to Wel-lo, "So Wel-lo, do want to accompany me to Napier's Firm?"

Wel-lo bowed as well as she could since she was sitting, "I would enjoy that a lot, Hirt-Sensei."

"Well I'm finished my meal if you are."

"Oh yes, Hirt-Sensei, I finished a while ago."

Napier's Firm seemed cluttered at first glance, but after careful scrutinization, it revealed a very orderly nature. The walls were filled with terrifying masks to medical supplies, and the shelves were stocked with daggers to trinkets. The shopkeeper was wearing an Eastern red kimono and her hair was fabulously decorated with all kinds of hairpins.

She glanced up from her bead chart at Hirt, who was carrying a full basket of monster parts, and blinked her green eyes steadily, "Oh goody, more adventurers here to pawn off stomachs, toes, and Lynx pubic hairs."

Hirt smirked, "Nah, nothin like that miss, I know what monsters carry that fetches a price."

The shopkeeper sighed, "Lucky for me," and began rifling through the basket, "You know, sir, these might actually be worth something to me. Tell you what, I'll give you 325 en for it all."

Hirt snorted, "Ha, you're shrewd. 350."  
"330."

"345"

"340, final offer, sir."

"Done."

After the exchange was made, Hirt pocketed the money and asked Wel-lo, "Three-hundred and forty divided by eight is what?"

Wel-lo though for a second and stated, "Forty-two point five."

"And point five times eight?"

"Four, Hirt-Sensei."

"So that means Forty-two en to each member and four for me."

As they were leaving the Firm, Wel-lo was very quiet, until she finally asked, "Hirt-Sensei, why do you not get in the same share as the rest of the guild?"

Hirt shrugged, "Don't need the money, but I know young people, and they do."

After another few seconds of silence, Wel-lo spoke again, "Hirt-Sensei?"

"Yes, Wel-lo?"

"Why do I get an equal share? I mean, I haven't even been into the Labyrinth with you yet."

Hirt smiled, "I was waiting for you to ask that. You see, I first set out to only give to whoever was in the party at the time, but I've decided to just hoard a bit and then sell in bulk, and reward every one. The reason for your share is that you are apart of my guild now, and that means you take part in its joy, its sorrow, and its rewards."

Wel-lo nodded. Hirt continued, "And speaking of joy and sorrow, I would like to see more emotion on your face, Wel-lo."

Wel-lo winced, "When I was young I was taught the fundamentals of Senpuku, Kagenui, Kagerou, Sarutobi, and Tonsou Jutsu. The training master did not allow much emotion to pass through the filter."

Hirt pondered this for several moments, "Hmm, those are skills of the novice Ninja. What caused you to stop your training?"

Wel-lo kicked a stone, "Well, Hirt-Sensei, I may have went in under the guise of being a boy. It worked until, well, you know," She made a curvy motion with her hands.

Hirt patted Wel-lo on the shoulder, "Don't worry Wel-lo, I'll be sure to help you along, regardless of, " He made the same curvy gesture.

A short laugh accidentally escaped Wel-lo's lips, "Thank you Hirt-Sensei. And in regards to your request, " She paused momentarily, testing the words silently on her lips before speaking aloud, "I'll try to show more emotion from now on."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

After a relaxing afternoon and a refreshing supper, Hirt, Flom, Savilo, Derith and Wel-lo met outside the Inn. Hirt glanced unsurely at Derith, "You sure you're up to this?"

Derith laughed, "Who are you, my mother? I'll be fine, I'd tell you if I wasn't."

Hirt smirked, "Like hell you would."

Wel-lo bowed to Hirt, "The others explained your rules, Hirt-Sensei."  
"You make me sound like a general, I mean, I'm not _that _bad, right?" Hirt asked while they were descending into the Labyrinth.

Snickering discreetly, Flom commented, "I don't know, Pops, you can be pretty general-ish, you know."

Hirt thought this over momentarily, "I guess so, but then, what do I know? I'm only sixty years older than you."

Flom peeked into a dimly lit corner, "Yeah, meaning my mind's sharper."

Savilo smiled wryly and whispered to Flom, "Exactly how sharp?"

Grinning, Flom looked into her eyes, "Sharp as your spear."

"Oh fu-bleeeghuhugghlech! Damn it! You mushy lovebirds actually forced me to throw up!" Derith complained, spitting chunks of supper onto the ground, "Seriously, save it for the Inn!"  
Eying the pile of bile, Hirt commented dryly, "No, if they do it there, they do it in the hallway, forcing everyone to hear it. Just let them get it out of their systems."

Tenderly touching his scar underneath his vest Derith moaned, "Yeah, but their gooey mush talk is going to open up my wound. Ten Frogs? I can handle, gooey mush talk, ne-e-e-ver."

Wel-lo stood behind Hirt every step of the way, occasionally commenting on a intuition that was bothering her. "I just have this bad feeling about tonight, Hirt-Sensei."

A smile creeped onto Hirt's face, "I wouldn't be surprised if Savilo is getting the same sensation, "He paused to look at Flom and Savilo, who were flirting around, "Well, she _would_ be. That's because I plan on taking you guys to the second floor tonight."

"But I haven't even shown you my skills yet! How can you afford to trust me so much, Hirt-Sensei?"

Sighing, Hirt placed his hand on her shoulder, "If you really want to prove yourself, than I have to oblige. In the clearing ahead, I sense two Frogs and a Fish, you can take them on, by yourself."

A wide smile formed on Wel-lo's face, for about two seconds anyway, and she bowed. Hirt waved his hand, motioning the others, "C'mere kids, the new kid is going to show us what she's made of."

Derith hopped a little, "Cool, cool, but what happens if it's too much?"

Wel-lo looked stricken, and Hirt quickly stepped in, "We'll step in, but I doubt that'll be the case."

They all gathered around the entrance to the clearing, and sure enough, there was two Frogs and a Fish loafing about in it. Silently slipping into the clearing, Wel-lo whispered something, causing a slight reaction in the air, almost causing a dark haze to fill the space. A carbon copy of Wel-lo entered the clearing from another path, drawing the monster's attention.

A frog launched itself at the copy, letting out an eager squeal, but all it did was pass through the stoic copy. Persistently, the frog continued flying through the illusion, croaking in frustration. In an instant Wel-lo was behind the Fish, slicing through its body with her makiri. Before the next Frog knew it, Wel-lo had fluidly cut it down as well.

Completely absorbed with its attacks on the illusion, the final Frog ignored the real Wel-lo standing over its dead comrades. Whispering again, the haze in the clearing lifted and her copy disappeared. Dumbfounded, the Frog look upwards at Wel-lo, who was looking into its eyes condescendingly and it leaped one more at Wel-lo. Her image flickering, she dodged the attack and cut the Frog down the middle.

Nonchalantly she wiped her makiri off on a rag from one of her pouches, and she glanced at Hirt, who was now approaching her, rest of the group in his shadow. She smiled faintly, "Good enough, Hirt-Sensei?"

Hirt nodded, "It _was _your idea, but yes, yes it was."

Derith laughed, "That sure is a nifty skill."

Sighing, Wel-lo shrugged, "Yes, but it's hard to keep up."

"Every power has a downside," Hirt stated while looking down at his map, "I noticed at stone staircase in one of the clearings before, as I remember, that's the staircase to the next floor."

They began the short hike to the clearing Hirt had indicated, and as usual Savilo was talking to Flom, "What was it like growing up with Hirt and Sae?"

Flom shrugged, "Well, I have nothing to compare it to, so couldn't tell you."  
Up ahead Hirt was talking to both Derith and Wel-lo, "Well, back East I had a brother, his name was Fyle-lo, he was a Ronin, and he left for Lagaard after I left for Armoroad, I was a year older than him and our mother wouldn't let us go until we were a certain age.."

Mouth somewhat agape, Wel-lo said somewhat excitedly, "Fyle-lo actually stayed four more years and then left for Lagaard."  
"Yeah?" Asked Hirt curiously, "How would you know that?"

Delicately, Wel-lo answered him, "Because, after being with his child for one year, he left for Lagaard. His daughter then grew up with her mother until she went to a Ninja Dojo. I'm your niece, Hirt-Ojisan."

Pondering this seriously, Hirt reprimanded her, "You'll have to get your honorifics straight, Sensei or Ojisan, but don't mix them up."

Surprised, Derith questioned Hirt, "You don't seem surprised."

Hirt shrugged, "Lo is my family's name. I just don't use it, so I just use it like my last name."

"Do Flom and Sae know?"

" 'Course they do."

"Oh,"

"Anyways, looks like we're here." Hirt claimed. The group stood in front of a large ancient stone arch, entwined with ivy, and underneath was a well-used staircase.

The second floor didn't look all that different to Derith, "So, what's so special about this floor?"

Hirt smiled suspiciously, "You'll just have to see."

Hirt led them to the edge of the clearing, and whispered, "Just wait and watch, and follow my lead, single-file-like."

Everything was silent, until the sound of heavy steps could be heard. A massive green lizard-like beast strode onto the path, realizing the end of the path, it turned around, moaning audibly, and continued walking, completely ignoring the party's presence.

Hastily, Hirt darted into the clearing, and began following the Lizard, trailing it for a small distance until he darted onto another path. Just as hastily, Flom and Savilo entered the side path, followed by Wel-lo. But Derith who was slightly slower was forced into a run when the Lizard began bellowing and charging towards him, though once Derith made it to the side path, the Lizard slowed down and began it's lazy walk.

Hirt jotted down some things on his map, "Greedy Lizards, beasts of habit, they really only patrol, nothing else. They only chase you if you're on their turf."

Derith panted, "Thanks for the information. Why didn't you tell us before?"

"It wouldn't have been fun if I couldn't see your scared-brainless face."

"That's cruel, even for you."

"Oh well, let's carry on," Hirt said smugly jotting something down on his map and began taking in the scenery. They followed a winding path, until they came to a crossroads.

After a bit of time thinking and a very democratic vote they took the path to the right. The path wasn't very long and it only took them to a small clearing that was covered with all assortments of plants.

Excitedly taking out his plant book, Flom began recording several flowers that he had just picked. Hirt slumped down at the edge of the clearing, "Might as well sit down, he's gonna be a while."

Rummaging through the thick undergrowth Flom finally selected another small flower and began sketching it in his book. Warily Hirt looked up at the flower, "You really are lucky, that flower has healing properties and isn't easy to find. You sure did get your mother's green thumb."

Shrugging, Flom placed the flower in his bag and labelled it, "Nectar Flower, that should do, right?"

"For sure," Savilo yawned before dozing off again,


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter 8_**

Yawning, Derith stretched as he woke from his nap, "Flom, you're still going at it?'

Flom nodded, "Yeah, there's a lot of good stuff here!"

"You do know that we're coming back. We're coming back a lot."

Hustling Flom out of the shin deep greenery, Hirt agreed, "Yeah, thanks to your picking spree we have to head back now."

Flom shrugged, "Well, I'm sorry."

Derith bobbed his head, "As you should be! I didn't join this guild to dive into the Labyrinth and sleep!"

Wel-lo was standing at attention near the clearing entrance, "Are we leaving, Hirt-Sensei?"

Hirt nodded as he gently shook Savilo awake, "Flom has always got off on plants," He glanced mischievously at the drowsy Savilo. She stared at him blankly, seemingly light-headed after her nap, and everyone left the clearing. Hirt glanced around, something was wrong, being drowsy in the Labyrinth was not good.

After a long, dragged out yawn, Derith scratched his chest, "Aren't there Platypuses around here?"

Hirt laughed as he splashed everyone's faces with water from his canteen, "Honestly, they are to be feared, but they're Platypuses, you know? Semiaquatic egg-laying mammals with a duck's beak and a beaver's tail. They look utterly ridiculous."

There was a crash as Savilo fell head first to the ground, thick vine wrapped around her ankle. Out of the darkness a towering spearhead of yellow petals crawled in and out of the darkness on four root-like legs. Another thorned vine snapped out of the darkness and began lashing out at Savilo, who was now restrained fully by several other vines. Derith brandished his club and Hirt, now dodging several whips, remarked dryly, "Watch you machismo, Derith."

Wel-lo, barely even making a sound when unsheathing her makiri, began leaping from branch to branch, vine to vine, eventually landing on the other side of Arum, after slicing though several vines and a pink petal. Flom, quickly springing to Savilo's aid, began sawing through her bindings with a knife from his pocket, half-screaming, "Dammit! Why does this knife have to be so dull?"

Hirt launched forward, fist blazing with fire, and, with a fearsome punch, set the lower petals ablaze. The Titan Arum screeched in pain and dozens more vines began slashing around, striking at everyone in sight. Flom had successfully sliced through Savilo's wrist bindings and one other ankle binding, and as he was working on the final vine, a spiked vine wrapped around his chest and pulled him into the air. The thorns on the vine ripped cleanly through Flom's tunic and began grating at his flesh underneath. "NO!" Shrieked Savilo, picking up the knife Flom had dropped and began hacking off the final binding.

Gripping his club tightly with two hands, Derith swung his club at the main body of the Arum, causing a cloud of purple gas to stream out of it's mouth, sending Derith and Hirt into a lung raking cough. Wel-lo spun around, and quickly forming a short word, slashed at the two back legs of the Arum. This slash caused the shadows cast by the Arum to wrap around its legs, binding it to the ground.

Flom dangled five feet from the ground, thorns digging into his chest and occasionally breaking off in his flesh. Savilo tore through the vine and jumped up and grabbing her spear, hurled it directly at the area that the vines were originating from. The spear buried itself so far that the tip stuck out the other side and all the vines went limp. Flom fell hard to the ground, spiked vines now wrapped around his neck, legs, and entire torso.

Now with cough under control, Hirt grabbed the butt of the spear and wrenched the spear out of it's side. With a pungent gasp the Arum tipped over on one side and fell, smoldering, to the earth, dead.

Savilo, now on her knees next to the still Flom, began sobbing uncontrollably, crying, "Help me get these vines off of him! Help! Help me!"

Derith coughed and tore Savilo away from his body, "Don't try, he stopped breathing the first five seconds he was up there."

Savilo pushed him away, "No! No! Hirt! Heal him! Please! Heal him!"

Hirt stared at Flom's lifeless body, words echoing in his head, _The power of resurrection,_ Hirt rubbed his sweaty hands together. A minute dead, was that too long? He had to try. He placed his hand on Flom's forehead and tuned out Savilo's screaming. A blinding white flash of light filled the darkness and time paused. Savilo's tears suspended in air, Wel-lo standing off to the side, the silent pity clear in her dark eyes and, Derith straining to fight off Savilo's wailing. Hirt stood over Flom, no longer bound by the vines, completely awake. Flom sat up and rubbed his head, " Wha, D-dad? What's happening? Why is Savilo crying?"

Hirt helped Flom up and noticed the same black haired woman standing several feet away, "Your first resurrection, Hirt. How does it feel?"

Hirt flicked the motionless Derith on the nose audibly and sighed, "I don't know… I mean, it feels like cheating. I don't want to use it that much, it will just create the attitude of laziness among the Guild."

The woman smiled, "You are wise, Hirt. You may use it as you see fit."

Hirt stared seriously at Flom, "Not a word of this to anyone else, not even to Savilo or Sae. Just make up some BS story about pulling through. Okay?"

Flom nodded, "Okay, pops."

The woman smiled, "You guys are free to go now."

This was followed by another flash of light, leaving Flom in the clearing vine-less and healthy.

Sae rubbed her eyes, "Wha- what happened?"

Derith was pushed to the ground, "I don't know, I'm not paying attention!"

Staring blankly at Flom, Savilo stuttered, "Flom? You, you're okay?"

Scratching the back of his head and smiling, "Uh, yeah, I guess I am."

"How?" She said as she hugged him fondly.

Hirt glared at Flom and mouthed the words _BS story_. Flom shrugged as best as he could, "Well, I guess I wasn't quite dead yet, just the thorns slowing my pulse. When Dad got rid of them he healed me."

Through tears, Savilo smiled triumphantly at Derith, "Some doctor you turned out to be, he was alive! See?"

Skeptically, Derith stared at Flom, scrutinizing him for several seconds, "Well, I guess his word is enough. I'll believe it. Even if it is a little BS," Derith glance at Hirt, who returned his gaze, and Derith muttered in a way that only Hirt could hear, "There's more, isn't there?"

Hirt looked away, "We have to go, dawn's approaching and we need to get back."

Wel-lo nodded and she and Hirt took the lead. She stared into his eyes, "You didn't take out the thorns, and he _was_ dead. What's going on, Hirt-Sensei?"

Hirt sighed, "I figured you would see it, and so did Derith. I'll tell you later. Don't breathe a word to anyone else, okay? Agree to Flom's story. Will you do that?"

"Yes."

"Anyways, I recorded a crack in the trees just wide enough to slip through… Here! We don't need to sneak past the Lizard to get back."

Derith let out a sigh of relief, "Oh, good."

Sae crawled through first, and on the other side she called back, "Huh! You couldn't see the crack from this side unless you looked for it!"

Derith was next, then Flom, then Savilo, then Wel-lo, and lastly Hirt. The rest of the way passed on flawlessly, no attacks or anything.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Chapter 9_**

Now alone in Hirt's room, door locked, Derith sat in a chair in the corner and Wel-lo leaned against the wall. Hirt was laying down in his bed, "Derith, you wanted to know what happened out there and Wel-lo, what did you see?"

Wel-lo rubbed her arm, "For a brief moment you touched Flom's forehead, and for a extremely short time a black haired woman stood with you. There was a flash of light and Flom was alive."

Derith stared into a lamp on the nightstand, "I didn't falsely diagnose Flom then. What happened then? Dead people don't come back to life," He looked down to the floor, "I know that too well, Hirt, it doesn't happen."

Hirt sighed, "I know that too, but, this is what happened..."

"Impossible!" Derith slammed his fist against the arm of the chair, "Why you?!"

Hirt held up his finger, "Shut up, you'll wake every one up," Hirt sat up, "I don't know why I was chosen. All I know is that I have it. You are not to tell anyone or lower performance because of this."

Wel-lo nodded, "I don't plan to."

Glaring into the night, Derith muttered, "Yeah, whatever. I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

Sae popped out of her room, "What's happening? It's almost noon! How did I sleep in?"

Hirt drowsily pushed open his door, "Because I didn't wake you up like you just did to me."

"Why?"

"It's the weekend. We don't go into the labyrinth on weekends."

"What do we do then?"

"That's up to you. Flom and Savilo are gallivanting about, doing, whatever it is they do alone," He shivered, "Rentos, Ubu and Wel-lo are doing some, female bonding or whatever at the Firm spending their share of their money. Derith is sulking about and getting drunk at the Bistro. I _was _sleeping and so were you. Am I forgetting anyone?"

"Asunio!"

Smirking, Hirt rubbed his chin, "I knew you would think of him. He, has been waiting for you in his room, "He turned his head and called out, "Hey Princey! Princess is up!"

Sae blushed, "Princess?"

Asunio opened the door, equally red, "Oh, hi Sae!"

Yawning loudly, Hirt went back into his room, "Whatever, have fun," He turned and stared at Asunio sternly, "But not too much fun. I'm going to sleep."

Putting on a hoodie, Sae looked at Hirt curiously, "You never sleep in, what's up?"

"I haven't slept in since Flom was born, but someone else is taking care of him now, and someone else is taking care of you. I'm off for today," He slammed the door.

Grabbing onto Asunio's shirtsleeve Sae tugged him out of the inn, Asunio asked, "Where are we going? Sae? Where?"

"Apparently Derith is down, let's go cheer him up."

"Go away, kids, I don't like being drunk around kids…" Derith was slumped over the bar, Missy silently sitting next to him, one hand on his shoulder.

Missy sighed, "I'm sorry, Derith had a rough time last night, you should come back later."

A tear rolled down Derith's face, "Rough time…"

Sae tugged on Asunio again, "Okay, this isn't happening, let's see how Ubu, Rentos, and Wel-lo are doing."

"I think it would look good on you! C'mon, Wel-lo, try it on!" Ubu pressed the dress against Wel-lo's chest, "I'll even buy it! Just try it on!"

Wel-lo resisted, "That's unnecessary, Ubu-san! When will I ever need a dress?"

Rentos put her hand on Wel-lo's shoulder, "Just humour her, Wel-lo, what do you have to lose?"

"Respect! Look at this dress! There's a lot of places where bare skin will show!" She paused and looked at Sae and Asunio in the door way, "And what's more there is a human of the male variety here! I wouldn't use this dress as a night gown!"

Asunio waved it off, "I'll wait outside."

Rentos smiled, "Nothing holding you back now, Wel-lo, try it on!"

Blushing intensely, Wel-lo caved, "Fine I'll try it on," She glanced helplessly at the clerk, "Is there a changing room?"

Shaking her head, she smiled wickedly, "We have a large shield over there, you could change behind it."

Wel-lo squeaked and reluctantly stepped behind the shield. Regardless of the unisex environment she made everybody to turn their backs. A little while later she allowed them to turn around. Rentos smiled at her, "See you look beautiful! Look in the mirror!"

As much as it pained her to admit it, Wel-lo realized she was beautiful. Really she had never paid attention to herself before. No reason to.

The bells at the door tingled and a man donning similar ninja gear as Wel-lo. Wel-lo and he locked eyes for several seconds. The ninja spoke to Wel-lo, "D-do you know where I can find the leader of the Riftwalkers?"

Wel-lo let out a high pitched squeal, and Sae cut in, "We happen to be in that guild ourselves, what do you want with Hirt?"

The ninja didn't take his eyes off of Wel-lo's blushing face, "Is that your guild leader's name?"

Waving her hand in front of his eyes, with no effect, she replied, "Yeah, he's my Dad, what do you want with him?"

He replied, "I am Ren-so, and I'm looking for a guild to join, and I hear The Riftwalkers are high quality, " He continued staring at Wel-lo, who was being held up by Rentos and Ubu, "And it seems like I didn't hear wrong."

Sighing, Sae tapped his nose, catching his attention, "We're held up at Aman's Inn. He might be asleep though, so just wait in the lobby."

Ren-so pointed at Wel-lo, "Is your friend apart of the guild too?"

Rentos fanned off Wel-lo's forehead, "Yeah, Wel-lo's a powerful ninja, but she's a little antisocial. She's not good with emotion."

Ren-so smiled at the fainted woman, "Ninja, huh? My life just got convenient."

"Don't get cocky, she might not even notice you for the first week."

"If you say so."

Wel-lo came to just as Ren-so turned to leave and she studied him. He was short and lean, dressed in a grey vest with blue sleeves, and had a fiery orange scarf that dropped down to his waist. His black hair ended in a ponytail and he wore a Makiri at his waist. He walked with cautiously, even resorting to glancing over his shoulder from time to time.

Wel-lo stood up and grabbed Ren-so's scarf, "To let you know, Ren-so, this is my first time wearing such a garment, and," She looked seriously into his eyes, "I am not easy."

Ren-so smirked, "I imagine not, fairest Wel-lo. I imagine not," The door tingled as he opened it, "But you do look nice in a dress."

The door slammed shut and Wel-lo changed back into her regular garb, "What a interesting man…"

Sae sighed, "A little creepy for my taste, but whatever."

"Your taste?" Rentos laughed, "Your taste is in princes, right?"

Sae blushed and there was a crash outside, and upon Sae's inspection she found Asunio lying face first in a pile of buckets that _was_ stacked near the window of the Firm. Asunio could feel the intense heat of her gaze, "What were you doing out here?"

Asunio sat up, scratched the back of his head and mumbled, "Uh, I was wondering if you were going to put on a dress, too."

"What? You're mumbling!"

"Nothing. What now?"

Helping him up and eyeing him suspiciously, Sae said, "I don't know, let's find Flom and Savilo!"

"Are you sure we want to do that?" Asunio rubbed his hands together nervously, "I mean, what if they're, you know…" He made a strange gesture with his hands.

"Nah, my brother's a prude."

"That's not what I meant."

"I told you we shouldn't of come! This is just wrong!" Whispered Asunio, who was hiding behind a bush with Sae, watching Flom and Savilo standing in front of a tall tree in the middle of a park, holding hands.

Sae shrugged, "Nah, it's not wrong, we just happened to see them while we were taking a walk ourselves, right?"

"How would you explain us hiding behind a bush?"

Sae though for a moment, then winked mischievously, "I'd come up with something."

"Oh lord."

"Oh! They're moving! Let's follow!"

"Fine fine, it looks like they're headed towards the docks."

"Can we go now?" Complained Asunio, "I'm quite bored of watching them flirt."

They were now crouching behind a stack of crates and Flom and Savilo were sitting on the dock's edge, feet in the water.

Asunio stifled a cough, "I mean really, we stick around any longer, they'll be making out in the water."

"Exactly!"

"You _want _to see that?"

"Sure why not? I'll black mail him later, to not tell dad."

"Your cute exterior hides an evil spirit."

"Cute exterior?"

"Did I say that?"

"Yup."

Asunio stuttered, "W-well I-I…"

Sae place her finger on his lips, "You think I'm cute?"

"I-I-I…"

"You've never had speech problems before, what's your deal?"

Asunio's face was now a deep, deep red, "Uh, well, y-yes."

Sae leaned forward, Asunio's face now inches from hers, "Really?"

Asunio leaned forward slightly too, causing a half inch gap between their lips, "Yes."

There was a laugh, "Hah! Look at this!"

Startled, the two looked up to find Flom standing on the topmost crate grinning widely at them, "Wonder what would happen if Dad found out."

Asunio sighed, "Your plan backfired, Sae. Really badly."

Sae tripped over her words, "F-Flom! D-don't you dare breathe a word!"

Savilo stepped out behind them, "Wow! Look how red she is!"

Flom nodded, "Yes, but is it embarrassment or rage?"

Sae lunged at Flom, "Why don't you find out?!"

Flom sidestepped and Sae landed on the other side of the crates, "Both, it seems."

Asunio stood up, "Stop jumping around Sae, you'll land on a fish hook!" Sae dusted herself off, humphed and stormed off, and Asunio sighed, "That's my queue. We'll stop following you around now."

"Good," Flom commented, he looked at Savilo with a sparkle in his eye, "I was getting tired of holding back."

Asunio ran off at that point.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10_

The next day Ren-so was officially entered into the guild and the guild was having breakfast at the Bistro. Left to right Derith, Asunio, Sae, Rentos, Savilo, Hirt, Flom, Wel-lo, Ubu, and Ren-so. Hirt had wisely separated Savilo and Flom, and Derith was suffering from an excruciating hangover.

Missy approached Derith cautiously, "Is there anything you'd like, Derith?"

Derith looked up with a spiteful look in his eye, but it disappeared when he saw Missy's face, he spoke softly, "Just a glass of milk, please."

After he was served, Missy tended to everyone else. Hirt stopped her, "Thank you, Missy."

"For what, Hirt?"

"For taking care of Derith yesterday, I hope he didn't do anything stupid."

Missy smiled good-naturedly, "No, no, it was my pleasure."

Staring into her eyes sternly, Hirt asked, "Did he tell you anything?"

"He said he was having trouble handling something, but he didn't say what."

"Oh, okay."

Missy leaned closer to Hirt and whispered, "Is it… Woman troubles?"

"No, he's single, I think."

"Oh!"

Hirt looked down the bar and asked Ren-so, "Have you gotten settled in, Ren-so?"

In-between mouthfuls of an omelet, Ren-so nodded, "Yeah, Wel-lo gave me the lowdown, loot basket, four at once. I got the picture. I signed up for tomorrows excursion."

Hirt swigged some of his water, "Oh that reminds me, We're going to start doing full days, I changed the charts."

"Sounds good."

Wel-lo stared suspiciously at Ren-so, "You signed up for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing, just that I'm going tomorrow, too."

"What a happy coincidence."

"Surely."

Missy walked over to Hirt, "Oh, right I almost forgot, someone dropped off a letter for you."

Hirt accepted the letter, "Yeah, who could this be from?"

"It's from Lagaard."

Putting it in his pocket, Hirt sighed, "Oh then it's my brother, Fyle-Lo. He must be done going solo."

Wel-lo coughed, "What?"

"Well Fyle has been going into the Lagaard Labyrinth by himself for the last decade or so, and he told me a while back that he was thinking of accepting more people into his guild."

Rentos thought for a moment, "Wel-lo?"

"Yes, Rentos-Chan?"

"Has your father seen you since you were little?"

"No, why?"

"Well, why don't we send a picture of you in your new dress to him?"

"Wha- what? Why?"

"So he can see how his daughter has turned out!"

"He'll think I'm a skank!"

Hirt laughed, "I don't think so, Fyle-Lo has mentioned how he'd like to see you again, why not give him the pleasure of seeing you again?"

"I don't know…"

Ren-so smirked, "Why not?"

"This is none of your business!"

Hirt shook his head, "Don't be rude, Wel-lo, he was merely egging you on for your own good."

Wel-lo squeaked, "My apologies, Hirt-Sensei. If you feel it is for my own good, I will do it."

Hirt got off of his stool, "Now we just need to find a painter to paint her."

Ren-so did the same, "I you don't mind me barging in, I am a painter."

"How convenient, can you paint her today?"

"It will take the rest of the day, maybe more."

Wel-lo stood up as well, "Wait, he's going to stare at me for the rest of the day? I feel violated already!"

Shaking his head, Ren-so sighed, "I assure you, my intentions are solely helpful! I have no ill intentions towards you or your… er…"

"Body."

"Er… yeah... body."

Ushering them out, Hirt chuckled, "Now shoo! I want the portrait done before tomorrow!"

Ren-so glanced towards Wel-lo's angry face, "Well, you can't rush art, mister Hirt! If you want it to look decent give me a little while, I could stay up late to finish it… But the poser would have to agree."

As they walked towards the inn, Wel-lo sighed heavily, "Fine, we should just get this over with. I'll stay up with you."

"If I had twenty en for every time a girl said that to me….

"You'd have twenty en."

"Exactly."

Rentos watched Wel-lo and Ren-so walk off, she had a worried look in her eye, "Uh, are you sure Wel-lo is going to be alright? She had a strange look in her eye."

Sitting back down on his stool, Hirt shrugged, "Meh, I'm more worried about Ren-so."

Sae laughed, " Yeah, Wel-lo looked ready to kill Ren-so on the spot!"

Savilo spun around in her chair, "I think I should go be a mediator, see ya!"

Savilo walked off and Derith grumbled sourly, "You're not going with her, Flom? You two have been stuck together like glue since you've met."

In mock surprise, Hirt swiveled his chair to face Derith and loudly whispered, "It speaks!"

Derith glared at Hirt and Flom shrugged, "I don't know, absence makes the heart grow fonder, I guess."

Grunting, Derith got off his stool, "I wish that was true. I'm going to try to sleep off this hangover."

Hirt watched him go, eyeing him carefully. Emptying her bowl, Ubu let out a small burp, "Something is wrong with Derith. You should talk to him, Hirt."

Glancing to the side, Hirt sighed, "I know, but he is in no shape to talk. I'll wait till he is."

The throbbing had gone down now and Derith rolled on his side. He opened his eyes slightly and he saw the form of Hirt sitting across from him. Derith closed his quickly. In a stern voice, Hirt spoke to him, "Sae tried to do the same thing on the work days, pretend she was asleep, so that she didn't have to work."

Derith groaned, "It's still Sunday, isn't it? You said we don't have to work on Sundays."

Hirt stood up and picked up Derith's club, "Usually, but today is different. You and me."

Hirt dropped the club next to Derith's head. Derith opened one eye, "What, you want to do some sort of bonding thing? Forget it."

Hirt walked to the side and picked up Derith's buckler, "Get over yourself and get up."

Derith pushed himself into a sitting position, "Ugh… We're going into the Labyrinth?"

Placing the buckler on the bed next to Derith, Hirt nodded, "Yup. We have to talk," He grinned, "And might as well shed blood while we do it."

A brief grin crossed Derith's face, "Might as well."

In a clearing on the first floor, just after a petty battle with several Durians, Derith and Hirt stood, scavenging around. Hirt examined a Durian's thorn, "Tell me, Derith. Why have you been so depressed since I told you about my power?"

Derith nudged a Durian with his club, "Might as well tell you. As I told you, I was apart of a gladiatorial team in the past. On that team were two other guys and two girls. We were close, you have to be in the arena. In my city the arena was the centre of commerce, economy, hell, even government. One day it became apparent to the Kingpin of the arena that we were doing too well on our own, and he wanted to 'sponsor' us. Sponsor, ha, that was a laugh. He wanted to control us. Dictate our wins and losses."

Placing the thorn in his bag, Hirt nodded, "No one likes being controlled."

Derith pushed the dead Durian over with his foot, revealing a broken thorn. He let out a small chuckle, "Yeah, neither did Sorenow. She was always too outspoken. She told the Kingpin exactly what she thought. We forgot about the incident and it seemed like the Kingpin did too. Several months later, just before an important match between our team and another famous team, the Kingpin approached us again and told us that if we threw the match, he would pay us handsomely. Again, Sorenow told him off, and he left. After we had won the match he had gone to the bar, and we all got wasted, well, except for Sorenow, she didn't feel up to it that day. She left us in the bar and went on a walk or something, I don't know. The next morning she didn't show to the Arena, so we went out looking for her, after we stood down from the match. We looked for a couple hours, and eventually, my teammates figured she was just sleeping in an empty hotel room, and stopped looking. But I didn't. I looked around some more and eventually…. I…. Found her. There she was… in the alleyway, broken and bruised…"

A tear fell onto the Durian's shell, changing it's shell from light green to a dark green, "The crows! Dammit the crows! I could barely recognize the body… Across from her in the alleyway was the Kingpin, her sword in his chest, pinning him to the wall. I don't know what had happened in that alleyway, but Sorenow had killed him, and he had killed her. Why couldn't I have your power then, Hirt? Why couldn't I have saved her? She… She could be alive if I had had your power!"

Wiping his eyes, Derith stood up tall, " I quit the team and several years later agreed to escort the prince to Armoroad."

Hirt stood in silence, staring at Derith, "Derith. Don't hate me for what I can do, or hate me for the power I was given. You know why? Because that's my job. I hate the fact that I have been given this power. It…"

Derith clubbed the dead Durian, sending it flying, "Shut up! You know what I wouldn't give for that power? Shut up! Just shut it! Use your ability to bring back…"

Hirt raised his voice, "Can it, kid! The person I want back is too far gone and so is yours! I can't use my ability on someone that far gone! You may know what it is like to lose a friend, but not your wife! I can't have her back… So don't act like the victim here. You are pissed that your friend died and my power wasn't there to save her, imaging how I felt, how I am feeling, eh? In my old age, know how many people have died that I want to bring back? Your friend is why you are here, it may not be by the best circumstances, but you're here for a reason, so be grateful to your friend that you get another chance to do something worthwhile because of her."

Derith sat down on a rock and rubbed his forehead, "You know, you're right, Hirt," Derith looked up at Hirt, "Did you know I have a child?"

Hirt breathed heavily and sat down as well, "No. Where is he?

"She," Derith corrected, "My daughter is still in my home city, being raised by my old gladiatorial teammates."

"How old is she now?"

As if he didn't even need to think about it, "Fourteen."

"Jeez, how old are you?"

"Thirty something, I think."

"Sorenow's child?"

"Yup."

"What does she know?"

"Mommy's dead, Daddy is far away. I failed at being a father, didn't I?"

Hirt stood and slung his bag across his back, "Up to now, yes. Who knows what will happen in the future."

Following Hirt down the paths back to town, Derith thought about what Hirt had said. Halfway back, Derith spoke up, "You think… I'll ever get to see her again?"

"I don't know. But tell me, where was your daughter when you were out in the arena?"

"Er… I think… I don't actually know. Actually I didn't know about her until several years after she was born."

"How? Didn't you see Sorenow pregnant?"

"Well, yes, but I just assumed she got drunk and…

"I see."

"Hirt?"

"Yeah?"

"If, by any chance, I see my daughter again, you think… you think she could… join us?"

"If she has the skills and if she can find you, then yes, I suppose we can accept her."

_Across the Seas_

"Tell me, Bawkanow! Where is he?"

Bawkanow backed up against the wall, terrified of the pink haired maiden in front of him, "He told me not to tell you, Serinew! I can't betray his confidence!"

Serinew drew her sword and held it against Bawkanow's throat, "Tell me where my father is!"

Bawkanow stared into her eyes, "You couldn't kill me, Serinew, even if I didn't tell you where he was!"

Serinew growled, "Tell me!"

"Sheathe your sword!"

"Fine!"

The sword entered it's sheathe again and Bawkanow sat down in a chair, while Serinew watched him closely. Bawkanow sighed, "You really want to meet him?"

"Yes! I need to know my father!"

Bawkanow raised a finger to his lips, "Quiet or you'll wake Daena and Tymnus."

Daena entered the room, wiping sleep from her eyes, "Too late, Bawk. What's all the commotion?"

Bawkanow grimaced and turned his head to face Daena, "I think you know."

"You mean…?"

"Yes, it's the time we have all awaited." Bawkanow said dramatically.

Daena stared at Serinew. Serinew was still a child, really. She dressed in the normal gladiator fashion, scraps of armour littered about her body, and a lot of exposed skin for ventilation. She had her mother's pinkish hair and almond skin, and her father's determined eyes.

Daena groaned, "It was another dream, wasn't it? You dreamt about meeting your father again and that's why you're so damn hell-bound to meet him."

Serinew nodded energetically, "Yes! I'm tired of these dreams and I'm ready to meet him!"

Bawkanow rubbed his temples, "What do you think, Daena, should we tell her?"

Grinning, Daena ran her fingers though her hair, "I'm fine with it. She would just interrogate the city and nag us till we die if we don't tell her."

Bawkanow nodded, "True, she got that from her mother." Bawkanow turned to Serinew, "Okay then, I'll tell you, Serinew."

Serinew shifted weight from one leg to the other, "Finally!"

Bawkanow stretched his arms, grinning mischievously, "Last I heard, your father was in… Er… What was the city's name?"

Daena snickered, "Don't be a dick, Bawk."

Smiling, Bawkanow finished his stretch, "Your father is in Armoroad, a week by ship, north east, I believe. He has joined a guild, called, um… RiftRunners or something, I don't know. But you'll find him in Armoroad."

Serinew grinned widely, a wild look in her eye, "Finally! I can find you, father!"

Daena gazed at Serinew, "You remember those eyes, Bawk?"

Bawkanow closed his eyes and leaned backwards, "All too well."

Daena smirked, "I hope he'll will be able to stand her."

"You mean withstand her."

"Yeah, that too."

"Really, I feel sorry for Derith."

"Yeah, the poor guy."


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11: _

"Stop moving around, Wel-lo! How am I supposed to paint you if you keep on moving around?"

Wel-lo humphed indignantly, "Well if you painted faster we wouldn't have this problem!"

Hirt poked his head out of his room, glaring at Ren-so and Wel-lo who were in the lobby, Hirt grumbled, "And if you both stopped yelling, I could get some sleep, dammit!"

Wel-lo bowed, "I apologize, Hirt-Sensei, I will contain my voice," Then she mumbled under breath, "But I don't know about Ren-so."

Growling irately, Ren-so dabbed his paintbrush in some purple paint, "Just get back to the pose, Wel-lo."

Retreating back into his room, Hirt grunted again, "Whatever, just be quiet."

Glaring at Ren-so, Wel-lo returned to the pose that she had been trying to pose, "See what you did? Hirt-Sensei is mad at me now!"

Ren-so peeked out from behind the canvas, "Stop glaring, remember that your father's going to be looking at this, and you don't want to be glaring at him from a canvas."

Sighing, Wel-lo adopted a small smile, "This good?"

"Whatever, I already finished the face."

"So it doesn't matter whether I glare or not?!"

"Sh! You'll wake everyone up if you keep on yelling like that."

Wel-lo watched in silent fury as Ren-so flicked the paintbrush around on the canvas. After a while Ren-so stood back and admired his handy work, "Done!" He said with a final flick of the brush.

Breaking the pose, Wel-lo walked over to the canvas and looked at the painting. It was excellent and extremely realistic, the colours blended smoothly and it did look like Wel-lo there, a small smile on her face.

Admiringly, Wel-lo commented to Ren-so, "Wow, I heard it takes months, even years to make a painting look like this, how did you do it in a dozen or so hours?"

Shrugging, Ren-so cleaned his brushes in some water and turpentine, "I dunno, it's a gift I guess."

Wel-lo left Ren-so's side and began walking to her room, Ren-so called after her, "Hey! Wait a minute!"

Wel-lo turned, "Yeah"

"You can call me Ren-Chan if you want!"

"How about no? I don't think I stomach calling you Ren-Bo."

"Oh, okay than, Wel-Chan."

"Don't call me that."

"Okay, Wel-San."

"Just Wel-lo."

"Fine, Wel-lo,"

"Goodnight, Ren-so."

"Goodnight, Wel-lo."

Ren-so was left cleaning his brushes alone. He finished up and glanced at Wel-lo's portrait. He stared at it for a couple minutes before heading to bed himself.

Hirt stood in the lobby, staring at the portrait. Ren-so walked into the room and Hirt sniffed critically, "Not bad, not bad. Didn't you put a too much of, you know, leg in there?"

Ren-lo shrugged drowsily, "I paint what I see and that's what I saw."

Tapping the painting to see if it was dry, Hirt grumbled, "What, did she take her clothes off for you?"

Wel-lo entered the room, "Hirt-Sensei! I would never!"

Hirt examined his finger, "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, kiddo."

Walking to his room, Hirt asked Wel-lo, "Did you write that letter last night?"

"Yes, Hirt-Sensei, I did."

"I'm going to grab some packaging paper, why don't you grab the letter and we can go mail it together, eh?"

"Sure, Hirt-Sensei."

"What's that, Hirt-Sensei?"

Holding up a letter, Hirt answered, "Oh this? It's a letter of my own creation. Ol' Fyle is getting two letters and a painting."

They mailed the package and the letters off and were walking back now. Glancing at Hirt curiously, Wel-lo asked him, "Hirt-Sensei, why aren't we in the Labyrinth yet? It's Monday, remember?"

Hirt shrugged, "Well, I did tell you we would be doing whole days now, so it doesn't really matter that much. We'll leave when we get back."

Hirt examined who all was there, "So we got, Wel-lo, Rentos, Ubu and Ren-so?"

The group was there, and Ren-so scratched the back of his head, "Uh, it seems like I'm alone in a sea of females!"

Hirt glared at him, "What do you mean by that, Ren-so?"

"Oh! Besides you, Hirt! I'm sure you're a male!"

"Better believe it, buddy."

Elbowing Ren-so harshly, Wel-lo growled, "How dare you insult Hirt-Sensei like that!"

Ren-so recoiled and whimpered, "Just a slip of the tongue, Wel-Chan!"

Rentos looked at Wel-lo curiously, "What, you two are going out or something?"

Wel-lo squeaked and pushed Ren-so aside, "NO! Nothing like that!" She turned to Ren-so, "I told you not to call me that!"

"I'm sorry, Wel-San!"

"Not that either!"

"I forgot! Wel-lo! Mercy!"

Sighing, Hirt shook his head, "If we can finish up this highschool drama, that'd be great."

Wel-lo looked around as they walked through the second floor, "Wow, it's a lot nicer down here during the day."

Looking around cautiously, Hirt grumbled, "Yeah, don't get too caught up with the scenery. Largebills roam here during the day, and they are a pain to fight."

"Yes, Hirt-Sensei."

Ren-so shook his head, "Why are you so damn formal?"

Wel-lo raised her head and humphed, "Because _I'm_ polite and feel shame."

"I feel shame! Every now and then!"

There was a sucking noise and a muddy slurp. Ubu let out a high pitched screech, "Eek! Help me, Hirt! Heeeeeeeeelp meeeeeeee!"

Hirt turned and looked at Ubu's situation, he smirked, "Oh, you've just stepped in a bit of mud, Ubu, nothing to worry about!"

"That's not iiiiiiiiit! That's a really big bird!"

Looking up, Hirt noticed the green Largebill perched in a tree, eyeing Ubu hungrily. Grabbing a hold of Ubu's arm, Hirt wrenched Ubu out of the mud.

Panting softly, Hirt stared at the Largebill, "There's a Largebill, and now we have to deal with it."

The Largebill swooped down from it's perch and attempted to grab Ubu with it's talons, but missed and landed in the middle of the group. Rentos, flipping open a book, recited a bit of strange script and rain began falling from the sky. Confused, the Largebill stared into the sky, only to be struck by a large bolt of lightening. The Largebill's wings began spasming uncontrollably, clearing the area around it.

Jumping high into the air, Ren-so unsheathed his Makiri and fell towards the Largebill. Retaking control of it's limbs, the Largebill struck out at Ren-so. The Largebill connected with Ren-so, but Ren-so simply disappeared upon contact. Confused, the Largebill squawked harshly and stared dumbly at its wing. Another Ren-so appeared underneath the bird and slashed upwards. Reacting to the slash, the Largebill kicked at Ren-so, but this one also disappeared. Yet another Ren-so appeared above the bird and slashed at its back. Again, the bird destroyed the fake image of Ren-so.

Ubu stood next to Wel-lo, "That's like your ability, isn't it?"

Awestruck, Wel-lo shook her head, "No, no it isn't. My projection cannot interact with other things, while his can…"

Hirt jumped at the Largebill, "Quit yakking and start smacking!"

Hirt grabbed ahold of the Largebill's wing as it came at him. Hirt raised his fist and slammed it into the wing, ending with a snap and lighting it's feathers on fire. The Largebill cawed in pain and threw Hirt off.

Wel-lo sped towards the Largebills head and the Largebill dipped it's head towards her. Thrusting upwards, Wel-lo's sword pierced the Largebill's jaw. Wel-lo quickly jumped back as the bird fell.

Ubu stepped forward, "Did you kill it?"

Shaking her head, Wel-lo spoke, "No, it is just asleep."

Standing dramatically, Ubu announced, "Then I shall make the final blow! Or, my snake will."

"Your snake?"

"Yup! Here he comes now!"

Out of the woods slithered a massive snake, it raised it's head and stared at Ubu. Ubu pointed at the sleeping Largebill and the snake lowered it's head and slithered towards the dormant bird. Slowly and smoothly, the snake intertwined itself with the Largebill. After it was done it's intertwinement, the snake revealed it's fangs and sunk them into the Largebill's neck.

As Hirt watched the snake slither away, he muttered, "Now it's dead."

Later that day, after the group had returned from their venture, Hirt and Ren-so were standing in the Firm, pawning off everything they had gotten in the Labyrinth.

The clerk sighed, "750 en, that's it! Final offer!

Picking up another bag of animal parts, Hirt emptied the bag's contents on the table, "What about this bag?"

Surprised, the clerk eyed at the items, "Good Lord, what do you do down there? Wait for the monsters to come to you?"

"Well? The contents, miss clerk! What's your first offer?"

"500."

"650."

"530."

"635."

"550."

"620."

"575."

"600."

"Fine! 600 en. That comes out to 1,350 en. Ugh… That's a lot."

Accepting the money, Hirt and Ren-so walk out of the Firm, leaving the clerk to sort through the pile of parts. Ren-so laughed, "You sure drive a hard bargain!"

"I guess," Hirt fingered through the money, "Uh, what's 1,350 divided by 9?"

"Uh… exactly 150."

"Okay then, 150 en for every one!"

"What about you, Hirt? Where's your share?"

"I don't need a share. I got a lot of money anyways, and I don't need weapons or armour, I'm a monk. So, what do I need the money for? The owner of the Inn is paying a debt owed to me, so I really don't need all that much money. But I do know what it's like for you young people, spend, spend, spend. Armour, weapons, dresses, shoes, food, odds and ends, anything really that suits your fancy, you must buy. Of course you get a little wiser with money as you age."

Ren-so fell silent, but a little while later, he blurted out, "You have some niece, eh?"

Hirt rolled his eyes, "Honestly, you'd think I run some sort of dating service. Flom and Savilo, Sae and Asunio, Derith and Missy, what is in the air? It's not even spring!"

"Uh, bad time?"

"Oh yeah, bad time."

"Sorry."

They grew silent for a little while again. Again, Ren-so fumbled with some words, "You think she's into me?"

Again, Hirt rolled his eyes, "Judging from appearances, she hates your guts and wouldn't minds either way if you fell dead at the hands of a Platypus."

"But, what if you didn't judge from appearances?"

"She is on the fence. She's used to not having feelings, whatsoever, so having you around is introducing something completely opposite of what she's used to. She doesn't know what to feel."

"Oh."

"Yup."

"What do _you _think of me?"

"What do you mean? I'm not her father! But, honestly, I don't know what to think of you. You seem alright, but I don't know if you'd improve Wel-lo or hold her back."

Ren-so looked down and kicked a pebble, "I figured you say something like that."

"Hey, just my solid opinion."

They arrived back at the inn and Hirt handed out the en to the group, except for Derith, who was at the Bistro, and Flom and Savilo who were at the docks again. Asunio nudged Sae and mentioned the docks, which caused multiple and varying emotions to run through Sae's face. Hirt thought this curious, but dismissed it.

Hirt approached Rentos and Ubu, who were sitting together, talking about random and immaterial things. He sat down next to them, "How are you two guys doing? You seem to be missing out on all the action going on around here."

Ubu shrugged, "Not really mister Hirt, I'm just patiently waiting to meet my brother in the Labyrinth, and when that happens, a lot of things will revolve around me."

Rentos stared off into the distance, "Personally, I'm just waiting for the right man to come along… ahhhh…"

Standing up, Hirt shook his head, "Oh, I see."

Derith accepted the en gratefully, "Oh, thanks, Hirt. I needed to pay for my meal."

Crossing his arms, Hirt raised his right eyebrow, "So what were you going to do if I hadn't come along with the money?"

"Uh, I would've made a tab or something."

"On me, no doubt."

"Aye."

"Well, I'm off to give Flom and Savilo their share."

"You sure you want to do that? They're probably fogging up the windows of some hotel."

"Nah, my son's a prude."

"Oh."

Missy waved to Hirt as he left, "Bye-a, mister Hirt!"

Returning the wave, Hirt smiled, "Bye, miss Missy, take care of Derith for me, will you?"

"Done and done!"

"I figured."

Hirt found Flom and Savilo sitting on the docks, talking about the sea and its beauty. Hirt didn't approach them and listened in to their conversation.

Savilo clung onto Flom's shoulder, "Don't you think the sea is just beautiful?"

Grinning, Flom nodded, "Sure, but I've seen better."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've seen people more beautiful."

Sitting down next to Flom, Hirt chuckled, "Why thank you, Flom. I always knew my beauty would reach out and touch you."

Flom sighed, "I wasn't really talking about you…"

Hirt took out the two bags of one-hundred-fifty en and handed it to both of them, "If you say so. Anyways, here's the share of the Labyrinth, don't spend it all in one motel."

Sighing wearily, Savilo pocketed the en, "No chance of that, your son's a prude."

Flom went red in the face, "Hey!"

Hirt nodded and stood up, "I knew that. You can't imagine the difficulty of giving him a bath when he was little."

Serinew leaned on the railing of the ship, the sea spray cooling her off underneath a blazing sun.

The captain of the ship, Dunvus, approached her, "Nothing feels as good as the sea, eh marm?"

Closing her eyes and soaking in another spray, Serinew shook her head, "No, I've never felt something like this before."

Dunvus adjusted the Panzerstecher at his waist, "The life of a pirate, er, sailor is one I love, that is true."

His first mate and only crew member, Juna, stood behind him and fiddled with the red hair at the back of his neck, tucking it into his hat. She laughed, "I think she already knows, captain."

Serinew spat out some water she had gotten in her mouth, "Yeah, I found your flag in the pantry, but I don't mind. If we get caught, I'll plead ignorance."  
Scratching at his eye-patch, Dunvus laughed, "As if anyone could catch me when I'm on a ship."

Juna sighed, "Yes, but on land that's a problem. We need a place to lay low while in Armoroad."  
Serinew thought for a moment, "I'm going to join my father's guild, why don't you too?"

Dunvus looked at Juna, "Might be fun."

"Why not?" Juna smiled, "Could be fun! I haven't shot anything for a long time!"


End file.
